Post-Op Day 5

Well, last night the doctors determined that Jake was suffering a bit from ICU delirium and he may need a different drug to counteract it.  He had stopped responding to increased dosages of his regular meds and we needed to find a away to have him relax.  The new strategy and medicine did seem to work overnight with just one reaction around 3am.  The rest of the morning Jake was knocked out mostly by the new regimen.

During rounds, we discussed the plan of action going forward and it appears in order to be safe that the doctors will wait till Thursday to try extubating again.   In their words, they don't want to fail again so better to exercise caution in getting Jake ready.  Jake finished his round of steroids and started a second one to make sure that the swelling in his throat can be healed so we can remove the breathing tube.    The extubation will take place in the OR this time and hopefully will go as planned versus yesterday's experience.

Then, as we settled in, Jake decided to test us a bit again.  We looked over and he had one eye partially open and seemed very lifeless.  It seemed he was testing the other extreme of the spectrum.  The resident was called in to check and Jake wasn't responding to some touch tests and when the doctor asked about a catscan we grew very nervous.  Jake did respond ultimately and the doctor indicated he was too far sedated then he would like so he reduced some of his levels.  After a little while Jake opened his eyes and responded to some questions and it was a huge relief to know our Jake was back.

For the rest of the day, Jake was resting with periodic waking up where he would open his eyes and answer a couple of questions.  He kept pointing to the breathing tube and we tried to comfort him.   We also wanted to remind him that he was in the hospital and had a surgery just so he could remember where he was.  The psychiatrist recommended we do that so that we help his brain process and remember when he lifts out of such deep sedated states.

Jake is currently resting with his foot crossed over a knee in a very cute and relaxed position.   The big issue is they have to re-insert his feeding tube which they had removed for his extubation.  I hope the medicines he just received will help him get through this with minimal disruption. These will all reset the countdown till extubation as Jake will need to meet his goals of eating, breathing etc. to ensure he is ready for Thursday.