Aug 30, 2010

Jimmy got pneumonia today, which he is already predisposed to since he is on a ventilator. Right now he can't cough the bacteria out of his lungs, so that's why he got the pneumonia. They have him on a course of antibiotics, and we should start to see improvement in about 1-2 days, and they expect his chest x-rays to clear up 1-2 days after that.

Today I asked to sit down with his doctor, his PA, and his nurse. They let me see all his x-rays and CT scans. It was really scary to actually see his fractured bones, but I think it's better for me to be fully aware of every single injury. He gets a chest x-ray everyday, so I had them go through all his chest x-rays and explain to me how things in his lungs have been progressing. I will definitely be keeping an eye on all the CT scans and x-rays they do in the future, and having someone explain to me what's going on.

Whenever I'm in the room with him, I'm keeping an eye on his blood pressure. I went in to his room after a late dinner at about 8:15PM and his systolic blood pressure reading was about 130. I started talking to him and giving him lots of kisses and it shot up to 152, and the machine started to beep because it was getting so high. I backed off him and let him settle back down to about 130 and then I started talking to him again. It went back up to 150, and again, the machine started to beep. I went out to talk to his nurse to ask if maybe I should leave him alone and just sit in there quietly and not touch him. She explained to me that his blood pressure is going up because he realizes that I'm there, and that I should touch and talk to him as much as I want. She also explained that everyone's blood pressure fluctuates naturally, and it always changes when we are interacting with others.

Before I said goodnight I asked Jimmy to blink for me (even though his eyes were still closed). He totally blinked! I kept on asking and asking and he kept doing it! Then I started to tell him how much I love him, and I asked him to blink if I could give him some kisses. He blinked, and then I went to town smooching his forehead.

Oh, and a very interesting tidbit of info that I learned today! An orthopedic nurse came in today to check on his broken foot, and she told me she was there when he was first brought in. She said "You must be Ashley" and I was thinking she must have just read his paperwork and seen my name somewhere. She then mentioned that he was very talkative when he was first brought in to the ER, and she told me that he actually gave them my name and phone number when he came in. He actually gave her a couple of phone numbers of people to call. The fact that he was so aware that he could recall multiple phone numbers is amazing! I am so amazed by him!