Saturday, December 5

I came back to Marietta for the weekend and that is why posting has been light. I talked to Dad though and Billy is doing pretty well. He has been spending more time sitting upright and yesterday he had another bronchiostomy. He had a fairly intense physical therapy session today and I hear that he is regaining sensation in his hands and trunk. This is not the same as motor control, but being to feel means that messages are getting through and that is great news! They have been working on weaning the vent and dialing back the heart medication. The net result of all of this is that Bill is pretty worn out- no such thing as a weekend off! He has had several bradycardic episodes so he is getting a temporary pacemaker this evening. His white blood cell counts are high right now, so the doctors don't want to give him a permanent pacer (a more invasive surgery) at the moment because of the risk of infection. The bummer about a temporary pacer is that he will have to stay flat on his back while he has it, which is risky for his lungs. This is the lesser of the two evils and I think that once his heart rate stays consistent then the rest of him can get back to healing. Dad said the nurses did chest compressions after at least one of these episodes. I'm not sure, but I think receiving chest compressions gave him a change of heart regarding the pacemaker. I'm sorry, I could not resist such an obvious and lame joke. Anyway, it seems likely that the heart medication was contributing to the issues he has been having with his digestive system. So that should continue to improve with a pacer. It's a step sideways on one hand and a step forward on the other. He is still making progress and that is what is truly important here.