I’ve given interferon. It does cause flu-like symptoms, they last a couple days, IIRC.
I’m really glad to hear they’ve lowered the vent settings. 100% oxygen and 15 of PEEP (Partial End-Expiratory Pressure) will, over time cause barotrauma and ARDS, neither of which schmoopie needs.
Here’s a point I’ve brought up in a few medical threads. When you visit, keep a pad of paper with you. Ask the doctor to WRITE DOWN the key words. Don’t be afraid to sound stupid. Most doctor’s worth their practice are happy to help you understand a little more. It will help you know what the doc really said, and you can always go back and do your research and come up with follow-up questions..which you can put on the same pad. 
The O2 levels sound promising! Keeping good thoughts for both of you..
-D/a
I’m wondering if aerial spraying is any different than the trucks they used to run down our streets, way back when, spraying for mosquitos? I mean, besides the obvious in that it’s from the air rather than the ground…
Glad for improvements! But don’t let him get lazy, he might get too comfy in there. Can’t have that!
The risk of ARDS is another reason I’ve been checking the thread, hoping not. I had it and it was a nightmare. purplehorseshoe, I’m glad your shmoopie is breathing better and things are looking brighter. Wishing for a swift recovery for him.
HOLY COW!!!
You have all of my prayers and good thoughts. I wish there was something more that I could do to help.
Have you given someone your rl info? So that if someone else just happened to want to send a live catnip plant, it could happen? I’m only asking because watching my cats be idiots over catnip tends to cheer me up, and I know you don’t really have the time to go to PetSmart for treats right now. I’m certainly not suggesting that you can’t take care of everything by yourself or anything.
Living in the land of no water, I’m only now learning about WNV and heartworms. That’s some scary stuff.
Bill tells me that the trucks have been spraying in Houston for over a month. He seems to think that he’s rather risk breathing poison than risk WNV.
Again, HOLY COW!!! I’m so sorry that this is happening to your schmoopie and to you.
Ah, geez. I first read this as “causes AIDS” and I was a little :dubious:, like you’re a nurse? Really??!
Purplehorseshoe, you’ve demonstrated some pretty incredible strength. I want your Schmoopie home with you soonest, though.
I got to see him awake! I got to see him awake! I GOT TO SEE HIM AWAKE!!!
The nurse was good enough to time his sedation vacation to the morning visiting hour, just after one of his docs had seen him, so as we walked in his eyes were just fluttering open. Still vented so he couldn’t talk, but that was *him *in there. 
I told him all the nurses have been complimenting his eyelashes (he has ridiculously long, dark butterfly wings) and he fluttered them at me, and when I told him a friend of ours was planning to see him this afternoon he made a slow incredulous rise with his eyebrows. He blinked when asked to, a big deliberate blink as opposed to the quick automatic kind (though he wasn’t doing much with his fingers or toes) and he seemed to recognize his mom, dad, and me swimming in and out of his field of vision. I wonder if he’ll remember any of that …
Still holding steady at 45% oxygen and 5 PEEP, which the nurse confirmed is a huge improvement over a couple days ago, and his chest X-ray this morning indicated that his lungs & heart are better too. I signed a release waiver (sighhh … ) for them to replace the neck line with a PICC (peripherally inserted centralcatheter) which she explained can stay in longer and has a lower risk of infection. (WTF don’t they start there, then? :dubious: ) He’s still getting the Lasix to help move out fluids, and his, ah, outputs indicate that he is doing so like gangbusters.
Also, I’ve been doing a better job keeping y’all updated than I have some of our IRL friends. I think that might make me a bad person, but the advice and responses I’ve gotten here have been unbelievably helpful.
d is the new a: his dad has been faithfully recording everything. All the nurses are incredibly patient with our questions and have done a great job explaining things so far. Frankly, this is a learning experience for them, too. WNV is relatively new to our country, so there isn’t a whole lotta protocol, especially for the real hard-luck cases like this one. The interferon is used for Hepatitis C and a few other viral protocols, and I get the distinct sense the doctors figure, “Eh, if it helps that, maybe it’ll help this, but … who knows?”
Taomist, I belive the aerial spray is similar to the truck sprays, just … more widely broadcast. It is pyrethrin-based; well, technically, the man-made synthetic version, like vanilla vs. vanillin.
lorene, I mis-read it the exact same way (AIDS! ack!) and had to take a moment to mentally re-group.
flatlined, that’s sweet, but our cats seem immune to catnip, the little ingrates. YouTube, however, is chock-a-block full of stoned kittehs.
I’m so glad to hear things are improving!
oh , excellent news!! so happy Mr. Shoe is improving. big internet hugs to you
((((((((((((((((((Purplehorseshoe)))))))))))))))))))
Oh, marvelous. 
That is such great news. May the news from here on out be just as good (in a steadily improving sort of way).
Come on, schmoopie, schmoopie come on!
Woooooo-HOOOOOOO!
I am not an expert in ICU medicine, but my understanding is that a PICC line, while more durable than a peripheral IV, still has a greater chance of failing when the blood pressure is all wonky and they’re giving a lot of heavy duty blood pressure meds to a patient with sepsis. While the PICC line goes into a large vein, it still starts out in a fairly small one, and if his veins had started to collapse in his arms, the PICC would have been blocked and had to come out. A subclavian or jugular line won’t fail if the veins in the arms start to shut.
So putting in a PICC tells me that they’re not so worried about his peripheral (arms and legs) blood supply anymore, which is great. It does tell me that they expect he’ll still need IV meds for more than a few days (or they would have just gone to a regular IV), but it’s a really good sign.
Jumps up and does a fist pump in the air. Hurray!!! I’m so happy the news is better today. Prayers and good thoughts continue.
Such good news, I hope it’s all downhill…uphill…?? from here. ??
I hope the worst has passed.
I am so sorry! I should have explained. ARDS is Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Barotrauma.
The bigger line they had in was also used to monitor the pressures in the chambers of his heart. It can also be used for meds and fluids too, but it can’t be left in place for long. If they have taken it out, or plan to soon, it means those pressures have stablized enough they no longer need minute to minute monitoring.
WhyNot explained the PICC line.
Thanks for the update. Hang tough you guys.
The thread was on the main page. I thought “oh boy, how is Schmoopie doing? I sure hope he’s better!”, clicked directly on the thread and this was the first post which showed.
YAY!
Now to read how exactly is he better
*Ehhhhhhh *… his fever spiked to 104-something :eek: yesterday evening so they had bags o’ice all over him to bring his temp down. Somewhat better today (his morning X-ray was deemed acceptable) but he’s started losing platelets and blood volume. Since his chest X-ray seemed OK but his blood isn’t as oxygenated as they’d like, they think he might have an embolism (clot) somewhere - onto some blood thinners! - but now that his stool is black, and tested positive for blood, they suspect he’s bleeding somewhere - off the blood thinners! sonograms of his legs to see if there’s a deep vein thrombosis in there! - so everything seems to be cancelling something else out.
(They gave him two units of blood earlier, and more fluids, too.)
Confession time, for if he ever reads this: I’m skipping your evening visiting hour tonight, my darling. I’m sorry. I’m absofrigginlutely exhausted. I know you’re sick of being in the ICU, my sweetest, and I’d do anything to bring you home sooner, or at least get you off the vent and unsedated quicker, but, I can’t. I’m sorry, I want to, more than anything. I just … I need a break. I feel terrible (and there’s a tiny part of me that knows damn well how I’d chastise anyone who said that about themselves, but yeah dammit am I good at beating myself up.)
It’s okay, ye Dopers - I’m not posting that because I want sympathy or pats on the back. I know I’m being ridiculous, and I know I need a break. Hell, I’m being all emotional and shit because I’m so tired and, ah, enjoying being female so I’m gonna stop now. I just need to put that out somewhere so it doesn’t keep rolling around and around in my head, like a snowball gathering layers of guilt.
Urk, that was a terrible metaphor. I’m hitting “post” anyway, but whoever’s still reading this really needs to forgive me. My inner editor has taken off early for the night.
I’m so sorry that you’re both having to deal with this.
Please take some time to try to get some rest. It’ll do you good.
I’m sending you my best wishes for everything that is good.
Please take care.
Please don’t beat yourself up. It is very, very hard to have a SO in the hospital. It is exhausting both mentally and physically. It is absolutely ok to need a break. I know you know this, but sometimes you just need to hear it from others as well. Take care of yourself!
You know what’s great about that metaphor? With a night’s sleep, the snowball of guilt will melt away in the light of day. How’s that?
-D/a
