Everything has come back negative from the bronchoscopy – no bacteria, fungus or viruses. This means that as Dr. Gamper suspected three days ago, Tyler has Idiopathic Pneumonia Syndrome. IPS can be caused by the Busulfan treatment Tyler had, by a blood transfusion, or by many other causes. “Idiopathic” means they don’t know the source. The treatment for IPS is a lengthy course of Etanercept and steroids, and Tyler actually started this two days ago. They were able to discontinue the Bactrim and Cipro he’d been on as well since they know it isn’t bacterial. This is good since the Bactrim was suppressing his immune system.
Tyler tolerated being moved twice today, which is important to prevent bed sores. He has lost NINE kilos of excess fluid weight since Wednesday. This means the CRRT is working, as is the defibrotide. His liver functions are looking really good, his kidneys are working despite being on dialysis, and his swelling and blisters are starting to resolve. These good things I hold onto, since his lungs are still very compromised and the chest xrays show no improvement. He wasn’t able to tolerate any adjustments to the ventilator today, but at least is still holding steady to the settings he had yesterday.
God is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or ever dream of – infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts or hopes! Ephesians 3:20