Tim's pulmonologist said he could leave THE BED today. So now they'll keep an eye on him, and make sure that his lungs stay as clear as they are and keep improving, and, then, would you believe it, he can head home one day soon!
He also said he was going to have the infectious disease doctor come back to see whether Tim's continuing elevated temp (and sometime fever above 101) is due to reaction to the antibiotic. Dr. Infectious came by and spent some time with us around noon, but said he didn't think that was it. White cell count absolutely normal, no signs of infection anywhere (but he's doing another set of blood cultures). Tim said he thought it's all the work his body is doing, and the doctor didn't disagree.
Meanwhile, Dr. Pulmonologist said he is very impressed by Tim's progress (lower left lung "completely resolved"), and so he got rid of the bed and Tim will leave the ICU pronto (or as soon as they can find a bed elsewhere...tomorrow). He thinks that as long as he continues to make progress while they observe and start to wean him from the respirator again, he'll be able to come home with a ventilator to continue recovering.
HURRAH! Tim is in such a good mood that he stays up in the chair for 3+ hours, then heads to bed (a regular bed) and weans in the afternoon. At 7:30, so tired is he and ready, finally, to sleep, he calls me and tells me to take a night off from coming in to the hospital. He'll sleep and so will I.
Bonus good news: At 7:00 PM his temp has gone down to 97.4, its normal place.
Pray with me, breathe with us, that this time we stay on the upswing. Good night.
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