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Seth is stronger than anyone I know! They had a family care conference with Darcy, Dave, Ben and Hannah earlier. To recap the afternoon, we don’t know why out of the blue Seth’s oxygen levels started dropping again (other than his pneumonia and ARDS) With interventions, they got them back up. Before all of this started, they were wanting to turn him on his stomach to help his lungs, and give him a paralytic to sync his breathing with the ventilator so they could try again to get a CT scan. This didn’t last long before they called another conference with the family. Seth’s options were either a more medically induced coma or ECMO. Shortly after this news, they called another conference to tell us that Seth’s most recent blood gas results were very critical. The words they used were that if they don’t proceed with ECMO, his heart might not survive the night. So currently, they are inserting a large catheter in his neck to proceed with putting him on the heart and lung bypass machine. It’s his best chance at recovery to let his heart and lungs rest for now. The machine will do all the work for him. So continue to pray for Seth, his family, and all the teams working non stop to take care of Seth. Other concerns are for infection of the new catheter they are placing, and the fact that they normally place people on blood thinners to help the blood coagulate less in their machines. Since he has a head injury and a brain bleed, they don’t want to increase his blood thinners much more. Recent updates…. they successfully placed the catheter! He’s hanging in there and we are just waiting at this moment for a bed on the fifth floor. This will be in a medical ICU unit where they specialize in ECMO. Keep praying prayer warriors! God is good! 

-Kerry

May God breathe on Seth the breath of life.

SP02 goal: 95+

12:15 – SP02 suddenly started to decline to 83 with no warning. The doctors and nurses were able to get it back up to 91 but the CT has been postponed.

12:46 – SP02 79

12:51 – SP02 low 70s

1:30ish – low 60s

The medical team is planning to attempt another CT scan. They noted that his oxygen levels are currently stable, which is an improvement from the last time they attempted the scan—during that previous attempt, laying him flat caused his oxygen levels to drop and his intracranial pressure (ICP) to rise. This time, they want to proceed with caution by doing a trial of laying him down again while closely monitoring his vitals.

During the trial, his oxygen dipped and ICP increased again, so the nurses quickly returned him to an upright position, and his vital signs rebounded. Despite these challenges, the team still wants to move forward with the CT scan. To make it safer, they plan to administer a paralytic to help make his lungs more compliant with the ventilator. This should help maintain better oxygenation while he’s lying down.

A positive sign is that he has been breathing on his own, though at a rate that’s too fast. The CT scan itself should only take about five minutes, but the team is most concerned about the brief period when he needs to remain flat. They plan to scan his brain, lungs, and spleen to gather more information about his condition.

Cardiologist stopped by, she continues to suspect blood clot in the lung. Causing right side to be stressed and have oxygenation issues. They are not going to do blood thinners right now, but will take it minute by minute and make any decisions if needed. She told the nurse the EKG looks a little better than yesterdays EKG.

Neurology Dr said that brain wise, he’s within pressure ranges and IF everything continues to be stable, the bolt can come off in 24 hours.

This morning’s X-ray doesn’t show too much improvement but report shows stable.

Everyone was pleased with the SPO2 numbers being so high @ 98% which was described to me as 9 out of 10 blood cells are being saturated with oxygen. It must from all those that are each praying for one cell at a time. Interesting fact: There are over 200 different cell types, each with specialized functions, building tissues, organs, and systems to keep the body functioning. God certainly designed our bodies with such great care and attention!

The ventilator is still assisting 100% to breathe for him.

The Artic Sun machine came back again to regulate his fever.

Specific prayer for today: Pray that there is no blood clot or that it goes away. That the antibiotics work on overdrive to clear up the lung and that brain pressure numbers remain stable.

A big shout out to friends Sammy, Anika and Drew who have been the waiting room crew. They have been a huge blessing to our family. I can’t thank them enough for making sure we have what we need and have go above and beyond everyday to take care of us. Thank you.

The Dr sat down with us late last night. Seth wasn’t able to tolerate the CT scan because his oxygen saturations were too low, so there were no definitive results regarding pulmonary embolism. Seth has severe ARDS -Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. He is fighting multiple issues and the lung issues makes the brain issue worse. Dr said he has “no miraculous intervention” which made our hearts drop. But we know that Jesus intervenes for us both on earth and in heaven.

“Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them” Hebrews 7:25

1:30 am- Chaplain stopped by for prayer and reassurance of Easter’s promise. The nurse, Alyssa, has been wonderful and caring.

5:01 am Nurse able to clean him, she removed the Artic Sun temperature system since he no longer has fevers, but if he did get one, there are other ways to treat it. SPO2 (% of oxygen in the blood that is bound to hemoglobin) 96%, ICP 4-6 (went down a lot after the CT drama).

5:31 am HR 113 CPP 60. PO2 18 BP 111/47 SPO2 98

5: 46 am Pupils stable, ICP 6, he’s off pressers (med to squeeze to different vessels to help make blood pressure higher) for now but may need them later. An X-ray was done around 4 am, no result yet.

6:20 am- Surgery Dr that attended the attempted CT last night was impressed that the SP02 was higher 98% as it had tanked to 25-45% last night. Hearing this news gave me a bit of relief.

For now, Seths numbers are stable. But as we’ve experienced, things can change in a breath.

Today’s specific prayer request is that the antibiotics work faster to help clear out the lungs.

– Darcy

PS, We’ve added Michael to the prayer board. He came in after motorcycle accident and his brain stem is bleeding.

May the Lord bless Seth and keep him; may the Lord make his face shine upon him and be gracious to him; may the Lord lift up his countenance upon him and give him peace. Num 6:24-26

Hold your loved ones close today

Prayer said with Seth tonight: I thank you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have graciously kept me this day; and I pray that You would forgive me all my sins where I have done wrong, and graciously keep me this night. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.

Cardiologist suspects pulmonary embolism. They are going to do CT scan immediately instead of treating blindly with blood thinners. Seth hasn’t tolerated CT scans well as his pressures go crazy when he’s laying down. God’s got you, Buddy!

Please listen and read the lyrics of this beautiful song while Seth is in his scan.

Ultrasound showed no clot in Seth’s legs. We are still waiting to hear from cardiologist about a blood clot. Antibiotics were changed. Sometimes with a lot of fluids in the lungs, a patient is put on their stomach to relieve the pressure and allow the back of the lungs to inflate more. Of course, this isn’t an option for Seth. He started a fever again which is controlled by the Arctic Sun, which is a system that runs water thru bags and keeps his temperature controlled. He’d probably make a joke about being an extra “cool” guy now.

6:06 HR 112 ICP 19 CPP 70

-Darcy

Update on prayer board friend, Danita. She was removed off of life support and said I love you to her husband. Most of her colon was removed and she has a plate around her ribs. Her husband, Josh is appreciative of the thoughts and prayers. He was also hurt in the accident and has been sleeping at the hospital this whole time with her.

Seth’s oxygen levels dropped, and his heart rate rose to 130. In response, the medical team made adjustments to his treatment to better support his breathing.

Thankfully, he appears to be responding—his oxygen levels have returned to normal. However, his heart rate remains high.

The doctors believe his lungs are in respiratory distress, and they are considering using a paralytic to help his lungs better synchronize with the ventilator. Under normal circumstances, they would place him on his stomach to support lung function, but due to concerns about swelling in his brain, that approach isn’t currently an option.

They also suspect the presence of a blood clot in his heart. An echocardiogram has been performed, and they are now waiting for results. A cardiologist will be brought in to help evaluate his condition and guide the next steps.

On the upside, Dr Thomas, the trauma doctor said that his brain swelling has been relatively stable. They also mentioned they have some more tools in their toolbox. Hopefully we don’t have to use them.