Babalu

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paulthenurse said:
OK, I was being Mr Crankypants this morning, long night at work, frustrated in my attempt to spend more time with Babalu and I have this f'ing sinus cold that has me using kleenex by the case lot.

Smooches.

PTN
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Ok Mr. Crankypants, I'll start calling the private labs to get names to give you. Is that "a thousand dollars in cash" for each lab? Is there a geographical area you want me to limit to? I think this could be very profitable for me.:ban:

And quit yer bitchin about the sniffles. Babs is in the hospital, and you're complaining about having to use Kleenex? Jeez...
 
paulthenurse said:
OK, I was being Mr Crankypants this morning, long night at work, frustrated in my attempt to spend more time with Babalu and I have this f'ing sinus cold that has me using kleenex by the case lot.

Smooches.

PTN
Click to expand...

Paul, you are such a man.

It almost sounds like an apology. But not enough that anybody could accuse you of being apologetic.

If you were a woman, you'd say something like, "Oh, I am so sorry that I was PMSing on you. You didn't deserve that, and I feel so badly. I'm so sorry! I apologize and promise it'll never happen again. I just don't know what came over me. I'm sorry.".

Notice, a woman's apologize will use the words "sorry" and "apologize" multiple times.

A man's apology:
"I was cranky. How 'bout them Packers? Want a beer?"

:D

Please keep us updated on Jeff. We miss his big personality around here. It sounds like he's got a long road ahead, but we'll keep him in our thoughts and prayers. Please let him know that!

How is he fixed for insurance and living expenses? Are they going to be able to weather this financially ok?
 
Update: 8/28/2010

As I mentioned in the last update, EEE has been confirmed and Jeff has made it through the most dangerous part. At this point the treatment of Jeff will shift a bit. Since they know it's EEE and there's no treatment for it, they've discontinued the rest of the antibiotics and antivirals. They were also able to remove his cooling vest and he's maintaining his own temperature around 99-100 right now. They'll continue to monitor and support him, but they won't be conducting frequent CT Scans, etc. So my updates may be less frequent.

The next step for his medical team is to remove the breathing and feeding tubes, which are currently just going through his mouth and down his throat. They'll give him a tracheotomy and feed him and give him oxygen, if needed, through that. This will allow them to discontinue all the sedatives, etc. that are needed to keep him from being bothered by the tubes down his throat. After they discontinue the sedatives, etc., they will try and really wake him. What I've been praying for is that Jeff opens his eyes, looks around and asks "what the hell are all you people looking at?"

Obviously there's no way of knowing what effects this infection has caused to Jeff's brain. So, our thoughts, prayers and positive energy have managed to keep Jeff with us. Let's get those same thoughts, prayers and positive energy working to bring Jeff completely back, both physically and mentally.
 
Ok, so before I address Yoops post let me spend a few minutes acting like a health care professional and interpret what Frank said so that people can understand what has happened here. Like CB said when I talked to him yesterday, "Speak English, Dude.' I'll try to avoid medical jargon and speak English. I won't discuss Babalu specifically, I'll just speak in generalities. Then I'll go back to being my usual ******* self.

EEE is a viral illness that travels thru several 'vectors' before infecting people. Vectors is a fancy term for mode of transmission or infection. With EEE the virus resides in birds and gets passed to people via various species of mosquitos. EEE has only been around here in eastern coastal Massachusetts for a couple of decades. The area where Babalu lives is prime breeding ground for mosquitos, low lying, tons of cranberry bogs, etc. The state conducts spraying to a greter or lesser extent every year to try to combat the threat. Obviously their efforts this year were sub-optimal. There are several strains of the particular virus, only one of them causes symptoms in humans, the rest affect horses. A person is biten by an infected mosquito can get the EEE virus thru that bite. Having the virus does not automatically mean that you will develop severe symptoms. An unknown percentage of the population that gets bitten by infected mosquitos develop symptoms.

(Late Addendum... A bacterial illness is caused by a bacteria. Duh. Bacteria are little, generally a single cell. These organisms are more like animals than plants. Fungus or Fungi are just as small (usually) and also single celled organisms. Mushrooms are fungi. So is our friend Mr. Saccromycies. Fungus are more like plants than animals. The differences are mostly in things like cell wall structure and don't make any real difference to us here. Viral illnesses are caused by viruses. Viruses are totally different creatures. They are neither animal nor vegtable. There is debate in scientific circles as to whether viruses are even alive. The common belief is that they are just little bundles of either DNA or RNA. When the virus get into a cell the virus DNA protein unwinds and insinuates itself into the host cell's DNA. Then that new protein detours the cell from doing what it normally does. In simple terms, it screws up the cell and prevents it from doing what it should be doing.

Antibiotics can kill bacteria or fungus. But since virus's are not alive they can't be killed. So far the hunt to find a way to denature viruses has had limited success. So antibiotics don't do anyting against viruses. That's why when you get the common cold you can take all the antibiotics in the world and you'll get better in a week, or you can take nothing at all and you'll feel better in seven days. EEE is a virus, thats why there is no specific treatment, it just needs to run it's course. End of late addendum)

Unfortunately, when a person does develop symptoms the symptoms are severe. Encephalitis is defined as an acute (sudden severe) inflamation (infection) of the brain. Symptoms of that inflamation include, but are not limited to, fever, confusion, lethergy (drowsyness) and a world class headache. The symptoms can progress and worsen to include seizures (convulsions) and coma.

The following paragraph is taken directly from the CDC page on EEE.

"Approximately a third of all people with EEE die from the disease. Death usually occurs 2 to 10 days after onset of symptoms but can occur much later. Of those who recover, many are left with disabling and progressive mental and physical sequelae, which include can range from minimal brain dysfunction to severe intellectual impairment, personality disorders, seizures, paralysis, and cranial nerve dysfunction. Many patients with severe sequelae die within a few years."

They clearly need a new proofreader at the CDC but the gist of what they are saying is that EEE is some bad ****.

Treatment is limited to supportive therapy. Think about what was just described. The brain has a whopping infection. The patient can develop an extremely high fever. People with high fevers frequently have seizures. People who are seizing are not breathing properly and frequently suffer debilitating effects because they are not getting an aedquate supply of fully oxygenated blood to the brain. That can be a viscious circle.

In all emergency situations you start with the basics. ABC... Airway Breathing Circulation. The patient will have a tube put in their mouth that goes thru their vocal chords and into their trachea (windpipe) to protect their airway. They will be put on a ventilator (breathing machine) so the machine 'breathes for them.' That way if the patient does seize they will continue to get a continued, adequate supply of oxygen in their lungs. It is EXTREMELY un-natural to have a tube in your trachea and a person will do ANYTHING to try to pull it out. It is a real balancing act to keep patients sedated enough so that they don't pull the tube but not so sedated that they become permanently ventilator dependant.

The medical team will also start to aggessively cool the patient. Old school = wet sheets and fans. New school = vinal sheets with cold water being pumped thru channels in the sheets. Fever is good, it indicates a body fighting an infection. High fevers are not good, they need to be brought under contol.

I won't get into the specifics but we can closely monitor damn near every bodily function, from blood pressure to intracranial pressure.

If the person gets over the initial hump they still have a long road to recovery. The brain has suffered a pretty good insult. The person my not be ready to breathe on their own yet. Unfortunately, the tube that was used initially to protect the patients airway can stay in place for a couple of weeks at most. After that time it will start to cause problems of it's own so it needs to be replaced. A small hole is put in the front of the persons throat just below their adams apple and a different type of tube is inserted thru that opening. That is actually a good thing. When the patient has recovered that tube can easily be removed and the hole will close over.

Another key component to recovery and healing is nutrition. (I will specifically address Babalu here. The f'ing guy is the size of some small countries. I mean the dude is a f'ing Clydesdale. A body that big needs a lot of calories. /Babalu specific.)

Patients with long term illness can get nutrition thru many different means but the most effective and least invasive is by punching another small hole thru the abdominal wall and putting another tube into the stomach and pumping in liquid nutrition. Again, when it's not needed the tube gets pulled and the hole heals over.

All of these supportive measures (and I've only addressed a few of the MANY steps that can be taken) will help the person regain ground. They are all reversable, hopefully temporary, measures.

Recovery from an illness like this is very patient specific. A 90 pound little old lady "probably" won't fair as well as a Clydesdale like Babalu simply because a 40 year old otherwise healthy person has more resources to marshall and is starting from a better place.

/PTN as a professional caregive. [Resume] PTN the general PITA

PTN
 
YooperGrandma said:
Paul, you are such a man.

It almost sounds like an apology. But not enough that anybody could accuse you of being apologetic.

If you were a woman, you'd say something like, "Oh, I am so sorry that I was PMSing on you. You didn't deserve that, and I feel so badly. I'm so sorry! I apologize and promise it'll never happen again. I just don't know what came over me. I'm sorry.".

Notice, a woman's apologize will use the words "sorry" and "apologize" multiple times.

A man's apology:
"I was cranky. How 'bout them Packers? Want a beer?"

:D

Please keep us updated on Jeff. We miss his big personality around here. It sounds like he's got a long road ahead, but we'll keep him in our thoughts and prayers. Please let him know that!

How is he fixed for insurance and living expenses? Are they going to be able to weather this financially ok?
Click to expand...

Aww crap Yoop, if you knew Rick you'd just tell him to STFU, too. He's not as irritating as Yeager but he's in Yeagers rear view mirror.:D:D

(JK Rick, you know I wuv you.)

And get real. No-one say's "How bout them Packers?" The Pack sucks, no one except people in East *******, Wisconsin care about the Packers.

I can't/won't comment on Babalu's financial situation, it's not my place to do so but I think one thing that everyone on this board should take away from this situation is that life is precarious. Take whatever steps you need to take to protect your family in case you are not there to protect them yourself. Disability insurance for a year costs about the same as a few batches of beer. Make the right choice.

PTN

Damn it, nice Paul snuck out of the house again.
 
paulthenurse said:
Aww crap Yoop, if you knew Rick you'd just tell him to STFU, too. He's not as irritating as Yeager but he's in Yeagers rear view mirror.:D:D
Click to expand...

I may be behind Yeager in that race, but you are so far ahead that you can't even see Yeager or me in your rear view mirror.

paulthenurse said:
(JK Rick, you know I wuv you.)
Click to expand...

Your gayness is showing again.

paulthenurse said:
And get real. No-one say's "How bout them Packers?" The Pack sucks, no one except people in East *******, Wisconsin care about the Packers.
Click to expand...

I'll agree with that...

paulthenurse said:
Damn it, nice Paul snuck out of the house again.
Click to expand...

There is a "nice Paul"? Have I ever met him?
 
Thanks for the explanation Paul. I really appreciate it and I'm sure others do also.
 
Yeah thanks Paul. I had never even heard of EEE. Guess it isn't something that we have in the west. Anyway sending the big buy my best and hopes he pulls thru just fine.
 
It's the first confirmed case this year. Actually it's the second. A 22 or 23 year old Rhode Island man contracted EEE in early August. They believe he got bit while golfing in Southeastern MA. Scary stuff.
 
Update: 8/30/2010

Not a whole lot to report. They successfully removed the breathing and feeding tubes and did the tracheotomy to assist with his breathing. They also inserted a feeding tube directly into his stomach. They are still assisting his breathing and as I mentioned before, he is and has always been initiating each breath on his own. They will now start to ween him off the breathing assistance.

One minor issue is that they think he may be occasionally having, what they're calling, micro seizures. But there is disagreement within his medical team as to whether they are actually micro-seizures at all. Either way, they're giving him some antiseizure meds to get rid of them. While they get this squared away, they'll hold off a few more days before they begin the process of trying to wake him up.

So we're back to waiting. Please keep up the prayers and positive thoughts.

Please be mindful of protecting Jeff's identity. Try not to use his full name when discussing this with others who don't know him.

Thanks,

Frank
 
I am happy to hear the progress that Babs is showing. Hopefully these micro-seizures are removed by the meds, or if they aren't those, then they end on their own. Thanks again for the updates Frank, please keep them coming.

If there is anything that the family needs to help themm through all this, please let us know.

Hippie
 
I &%^$'in hate this... a lot. (the situation, not your post Hippie)

I have a theory about there being a huge, massive cosmic ass in the universe... and this situation couldn't possibly suck that ass any more.
 
Can you imagine having CB as your father? Those poor little children must be flat out terrified of bedtime and the accompanied bedtime story. "No Daddy ! Please let Mommy put us to bed. We were good today, ask Mommy! No more stories about Uranis. Please!"
 
homebeerbrewer said:
Speaking of huge, massive cosmic asses...
Click to expand...
Not to get all kumbaya or anything but some of the guys itt are good friends and at least some of the stuff itt is just typ friends razzing each other*. But I can't tell 100% what is friends razzing each other and what is serious. So I'm gonna assume it's all razzing. In any case, babalu should get a laugh from it when he gets better.

* - Insults are the language of intimacy among men.
Don't know the source but I heard it from Colin Cowherd, ESPN.
 
When Babalu gets off his ass and gets out of bed he will stone cold bust our balls from here to eternity of we get all mushy and googoo. We are all friends here, and insults and ball busting are the currency of our friendships. Even that doofus Rick, we only bust his teeny tiny balls because we like him. Wait till Babalu gets back in the saddle and we start in on him for taking to bed for two weeks cause he got a widdle skeety bite

PTN
 
SpanishCastleAle said:
Not to get all kumbaya or anything but some of the guys itt are good friends and at least some of the stuff itt is just typ friends razzing each other*. But I can't tell 100% what is friends razzing each other and what is serious. So I'm gonna assume it's all razzing. In any case, babalu should get a laugh from it when he gets better.

* - Insults are the language of intimacy among men.
Don't know the source but I heard it from Colin Cowherd, ESPN.
Click to expand...

Yep, it's all razzing. Well, except for busting PTN's balls, he doesn't have any...
 
Update: 9/1/2010

Another day with not a lot to report. They continue to give him antiseizure meds to deal with the micro-seizures, The meds are pretty much keeping him sedated. They also continue to have varying opinions as to whether they are micro-seizures or not. As I mentioned before, once they get this micro-seizure thing straightened out, they'll get to trying to wake him up.

They are weening him off the ventilator and he is doing well with that. That's all I've got to report.

Keep the thoughts and prayers coming.

Frank
 
Update: 9/6/2010

Some more good news today. First off, Jeff's been off the ventilator all day today! He's breathing completely on his own. The doctors were surprised at how quickly they were able to wean him off the ventilator.

The preliminary results of the MRI showed no drastic damage to his brain, beyond what they would expect to see at this point. The family will meet with the neurology team tomorrow to get the full details of the MRI results. The anti seizure drugs continue to keep him drowsy. So we'll continue to wait for them to try and wake him.

His wife and family have been noticing that Jeff seems to be more responsive when they're talking to him. He's been moving his eyes more (like when you're dreaming) and he's now moving his jaw. When they were moving him to the new bed he opened his eyes briefly.

Last piece of good news, he can have visitors in his new room.

As always keep the good thoughts and prayers flowing.

Frank
 
Great news! Thank you for keeping us updated, Frank. Continuing to send thoughts and prayers to all of you.
 
Update: 9/7/2010

Jeff had another pretty good day. He remains off the ventilator and they consider him completely weaned from it, at this point. He's breathing on his own and is coughing on his own. Tests for kidney, liver and pancreas function all came back normal.

His wife said his eye movement was even more pronounced today as his family was talking to him and joking with him. When they rolled him over today he briefly opened his eyes again.

They'll probably be moving him out of the RACU soon and up to Neurology again, not in the ICU, but in the regular unit. There they will work on getting him off the antiseizure meds. The reason for the RACU stay was to get him off the ventilator, which he did rather quickly.

Your prayers and positive thoughts seem to be working, keep it up!

Frank
 
Update: 9/9/2010

Jeff had another good day. While moving him twice today he opened his eyes. The second time the nurse asked him to squeeze his hand, unfortunately he didn't. Then he asked Jeff if he could blink his eyes and he did. Another time they were doing and EEG on him and the nurse pinched him with a pair of tweezers. Jeff grimaced and growled at him. We should get the results of the EEG tomorrow. He had a slight fever yesterday and the day before. Today his temperature was back to normal and they didn't need to give him any Tylenol today. All positive signs.

Thanks to everyone who's kept Jeff and his family in their thoughts and prayers. I honestly believe it's helping. Keep it going.

Frank
 
paulthenurse said:
Ok, so before I address Yoops post let me spend a few minutes acting like a health care professional and interpret what Frank said so that people can understand what has happened here...

/PTN as a professional caregive.
Click to expand...

That was a superfine discussion of this illness (OK, Paul is not a great speller). Thanks. What a freaking nightmare. I want to kick that virus's ass.
 
Update: 9/12/2010

Jeff had a pretty good weekend. He opened his eyes on his own a few times over the last couple days, one time today for a couple of minutes. While he is opening his eyes, he's not tracking tracking objects yet. Yesterday, when the physical therapist was moving Jeff he again opened his eyes. He was on his side and the therapist had his wife get right in Jeff's face and call his name. She says for a brief time Jeff made eye contact with her.

The next 5-7 days are really important for Jeff. If he makes some significant progress they will be transferring him to a rehab facility where he'll undergo an aggressive rehabilitation. If he doesn't they'll be transferring him to a Long Term Acute Care facility, where the rehabilitation he will receive will not be aggressive. Basically, they can't treat him aggressively if he's not responding

Now is the time we really need to ramp up the positive thoughts and prayers and get Jeff on the fast track to recovery.
 

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