Tuesday 2/17/09 - Recap

Wednesday 2/11/09
Don went into the doctor’s office with labored breathing and a sharp pain in his left side. The doctor sent him to the ER straight away. While in the ER @ Greer Memorial it was noted that his blood pressure was very low and his temp was below normal. X-rays showed that he had a large Pneumonia in his left lung. Due to his increased labor in breathing he was sedated and put on a ventilator. He was moved into ICU at Greer and later transferred to Greenville Memorial due to challenges with his kidneys and the possible necessity of dialysis which was not available at Greer. By the end of the evening and after a number of tests, he was diagnosed with severe Sepsis.

Thursday 2/12/09
He had a rough night transitioning to Greenville.
By Thursday morning Don was on 14 IV medications hanging on 4 IV poles.
It was a minute by minute watch. Around 2:30 p.m. Don flatlined. They were able to revive him with only compressions – Praise God. At this point the kids were called to come out from California. The rest of that day was a blur… They also started Don on a powerful antibiotic, Xigris. This drug has a 3 page protocol and is used to treat severe Sepsis.

Friday 2/13/09
Cliff, Sandy and Brett flew over night and arrived at various times Friday morning. After picking up Brett and Caleb, Rod headed straight over to the hospital. You could see that bringing the family together was helping to bring strength to Don’s will. Though the situation looked grim, the Father’s presence was near. Wisdom was given to those praying over Don and Don’s Spirit responded and started lining his body up. Papa let us see how heaven invades earth by the power of our prayers.

Saturday 2/14/09
After pulling an all nighter the crew was worn out but still pushin in for healing. Twice today they pulled back on his B.P. medicine. His heart is working overtime though. His heart is PVCing, which means its timing is off. (Premature Valve Contraction) But after much pray you could see a slight decrease in PVCs.

Sunday 2/15/09
They continue to decrease the vasopressors and he is holding his pressure. His WBC count is 23,000 and creatine is 7.4 At this point he is down to four hanging IV medications.

Monday 2/16/09
Today they took Don off the the vasopressors and he has been able to hold his blood pressure. It’s also the last day of Xigris. James, Don’s grandson, arrived to support the troops. When the doctors were doing their rounds, they were able to get Don to open his eyes and when they told him to squeeze their hand, Don lifted his thumb and gave them a “thumbs up”. He went in and out of consciousness most of the day.

Tuesday 2/16/09
At this time the white blood count (WBC) is up to 35,000 and his Creatine is 7.9. It is believed that he has another bacteria, Group A Strep, which they have a specific antiobiotic for. It will take 48 to 72 hours to see if the white count is effected. His urine output has increased but his body needs to flush out all the debri left from the war within all his blood and tissues. Today he is down to three IV bags. Praise the Lord.