Again last night was a late night so nothing was posted. Mike had been there rubbing Rob's back and helping him drink some liquids. His heart rate has still been high and his blood pressure low. They were still giving him blood and plasma. At about 8:00 pm Mike looked at the chest tube and saw that it was kinked. When he straightened it a lot of blood drained into the reservoir. He called to the nurse who was so worried. She contacted the dr. and was told to keep giving Rob the blood products and the teams would get together to consult in the am--which they had lready planned to do. Mike literally saved Rob's life twice Saturday.
Mike figured that the 7 units of blood they had given him that day had totally come back out. The dr. earlier in the day after doing the ct scan said the first time there was drainage (Sat. am) it probably was old blood and with taking him off the heparin and cumadin (blood thinners that he needs for the mechanical valve) and giving him plasma and platelets he'd stop bleeding. Well--no one thought to check that the tube was straight and he was still bleeding internally all afternoon. No wonder he was in such pain since it was collecting and not able to drain out. Marla had questioned the nurse because she said Rob's stomach was puffing out and that was not normal. The nurse felt it and said it was probably because he had started to drink liquids by mouth and had had a few bites of mashed potatoes.
Today the pulmonolgist came by and told Mike they were going to get Rob ready for surgery.
(Mike here, back at hotel to drop off Rob's belongings from ICU, since he will be back in a recovery unit for awhile.) They are going to make a large incision on the left rib cage, in the back, like Mike Duncombe had. (I told Rob, He will be like Maddogg the Machine with a matching scar.) Then they will, after drainage comes out during surgery, put in a saline and talc mixture through the tubes which irritate the lining of the lung to create scar tissue and thus help it adhere to the wall of the chest cavity. I would assume they will place some additional drainage tubes. It is kind of like using 2-sided tape to help it adhere. They've done this for 20+ years and it works well in cases like this where the lungs have collapsed or there are tears in the lining.
Rob was consulted about the surgery and wants it to happen--he is so exhausted and in pain that he hopes for relief. He reached out and shook Dr. Coselli's hand and gave him the thumbs up for surgery. He continues to amaze me. After so many days with very little rest, very little food or liquids, coming in and out of consciousness, struggling to breathe, massive loss of blood (Over 12 units in just the past 24 hours, that we know of. More is happening inside!) not being able to lay back, stuck in bed for almost a month while being poked, beeped awake every few minutes, and constantly annoyed by all the noise in his room and ICU area--he still has a smile for all those who help him and a positive attitude towards his treatments. After passing out yesterday, during a difficult time he awoke to see Marla in fornt of him, very tearful. He held her had and said "Everything is going to be alright!"
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