Wednesday, July 13, 2005

Wednesday July 13, 2005. When I walked in Zack’s room this morning, I knew something was different. His night nurse Stephanie followed me into the room with a big smile on her face. I told her he was breathing differently and she excitedly explained that he had been breathing on his own all night. His ventilator is set at 14 (14 breaths a minute) but his monitor was showing 18, 20, 23 and I even saw 28. Which means that although the ventilator assisted him with breathing, he would then take several breaths on his own. There was an obvious difference in his demeanor. His ICP was 3, then 2 and briefly 1. His heart rate was strong. His white blood count today was 8, as opposed to yesterday’s 7, but anything below 10 is not considered elevated. He looks good. It was time for doctor’s rounds. I expected to be kicked out until 8:30. Stephanie shut the door so that I could stay with him. Zack was sweating a lot and occasionally I would wipe away a tear. His legs shake continuously. I stayed with him until the morphine put him asleep. About 12:00, I took my boss and friend Mel up to see him. They had the lights on in his room, which usually never happens unless something is going on. As we approached the room, I saw Dr. Mutchnick (part of the Neurological team) and he was preparing to rework the stitches of Zack’s laceration. I stopped and he invited us in. He explained that the laceration was “a mess” and he would have to remove all the stitches, clean it out and re-stitch it to eliminate the leaks. I asked him a few questions and he told me to talk to Zack and hold his hand. I stayed with him throughout the surgery, holding his hand and comforting him. He was sedated and loaded with morphine but he felt it. They scrubbed his head like an old boot. I can’t even watch surgery on TV and never thought I could handle it live but I did amazingly well. I was pumped…it was like being on ER. Zack was out for several hours. At 6:00 p.m., they decided to turn the ventilator off since he was breathing on his own. The ventilator is not assisting him at all now but he still has the tube down his mouth and as he breaths he gets additional oxygen. Once he comes around from the sedative he responds to commands. Not quite so quick with the thumb but still responding. He is much farther along than any one expected. Later in the day I see Dr. John Hill, one of the Critical Care Team and ask when they may remove the tube. He says probably in 4 or 5 days but I have learned through this experience that God has broken all the rules with Zack. I am starting to feel honored that God has chosen Zack to glorify Him with daily blessings in the form of healing. God is the great physician and if Zack got up and walked out of here tomorrowh, I would be elated but not surprised. Pray that God uses this to touch the staff here. Pray that Zack continues on this apparent rapid path of recovery. Pray that God will give me the opportunity to share His message with those I meet here.