A Renewed Request for Prayers - Return of Bleeding in the Lungs

As always, we open with a message of thanks to all of our dear friends and family for your support.  You are a constant blessing to us.

Although we had hoped to get Michael off the ventilator yesterday, we've had a setback with his lungs.  As of yesterday, Mike was breathing on his own, with a relatively low percentage of oxygen (35%) and performed well on his breathing tests.  Then his the oxygen saturation in his blood began to decrease, which seemed to be exacerbated by some stressful procedures he had later in the afternoon.  When they suctioned his lungs that evening, they found some blood in his lungs, and kept his lungs under closer observation.  They returned breathing control to the ventilator and increased the percentage of oxygen he received in order to help him rest after a stressful day.

This morning, the ICU doctor decided to further investigate the cause of the blood in his lungs with a bronchoscopy (sending a camera down the breathing tubes into his lungs), and discovered that he was bleeding from the aveoli (tiny air sacs distributed throughout the lungs), a return of the original symptoms that brought to the ICU.  After seeing the return of the bleeding, the doctors determined that Michael's lungs did not keep up with the reduction in steroids and our efforts to wean him from the rest of his medications.  We are now restarting the steroids and will be restarting much of his treatment.

Since Michael has had a breathing tube for 10 days, the doctors will be looking to provide a more permanent solution, which will make him more comfortable and improve some of the risk associated with intubation.  Within the next few days, we anticipate that the thoracic surgeon will be performing a tracheotomy to replace the current breathing tube connected to the ventilator.

The return of the bleeding is particularly troubling since he has been in the ICU for 10 days, and we pray that he has the strength to restart his treatment.

In order to ensure that his lungs are not stressed, Mike will be placed under extremely heavy sedation.  This will prevent any coughing or agitation to the lungs.   This means that we are most likely starting a new stage of a long journey in the ICU.  It is a very disappointing setback, as we had hoped to have him out of the ICU this weekend.

Although we are disappointed, we gain strength from the messages of encouragement from everyone.  Please forward Michael's name to your prayer lists and friends; our network of prayer is a source of wonder and peace.  We pray for strength, endurance, and patience as Michael's body heals.

We're also grateful to Nancy DiGiovanni and Renee Hacker who are staying in Houston and are helping attend to Mike, work through our insurance paperwork, and complete basic household chores.  And we also received a gorgeous floral arrangement from Mike's friend Katie Ferris, which has lifted our spirits daily.

The picture of Katie's flowers we put up beside Michael's bed.