This morning Tyler had to be intubated as more fluid infiltrated his lungs. He could no longer sustain his oxygen levels on the BiPAP machine despite increasing the pressure as high as it would go. As they intubated him, they realized his lungs were very stiff. The doctor said the fact Tyler kept working so hard to breathe for 5 days despite the condition of his lungs was nothing short of heroic. No surprise there – he is and always will be our hero!
Tyler requires a kind of ventilator called an oscillator. This requires him to be paralyzed and fully sedated so that he doesn’t move or cough. Unlike a normal ventilator, an oscillator is set at a high speed to make breaths come very fast. The hope is Tyler will do well enough on the oscillator so that he can then be transitioned to a regular ventilator that will allow him to wake up. The doctor said Tyler’s lungs are very sick.
The other organs that are very sick right now are Tyler’s kidneys. Early this evening, they surgically placed a femoral line in Tyler so he can receive dialysis (CRRT). Unlike traditional dialysis, CRRT runs 24/7 and is gentler on the kidneys. All the equipment Tyler needed was too much for his tiny room, so he was also moved to a larger room. In fact, we are back in the same room where Tyler stayed during his last ICU visit in November.
Although this turn of events is very scary, Ron and I are looking at the vent and CRRT as the next stages in his treatment. They will give his lungs and kidneys the rest they need to recover from their injuries. He will likely need to be on both for at least two weeks. We are not giving up hope and are told Tyler can still make a full recovery.
Because of the generosity of so many of our church family, we are still staying at the hotel near the hospital. I can’t state enough how much of a relief and blessing this has been to us!