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Monday - Day 4

Monday - Day 4

Monday, August 29, 2022

8:52 PM

Monday, August 29, 2022

8:52 PM

The end of day four on stay three at the QEH.

 

Overall I’m feeling a little better. Today, the respiratory therapist moved me off the Airvo back on to regular oxygen. The Airvo is a system that has been blowing warmed, humid air, rich with oxygen into my nostrils. The warm wet air has helped loosen the fibrosis and made it a little easier to breathe. Moving back on to regular oxygen is an adjustment and my lungs have to work a little harder, but so far it’s going well. The Airvo also has only about a 5 foot large capacity tube, which has meant I can’t move very much. Now that I’m back on regular tubing I have about 18 feet of ‘leash’ giving a slightly greater range of movement. And even though my oxygen levels drop when I’m moving or tai-chi-ing, it’s important for me to keep the muscles working at least a little bit.

 

I’m about to refer to “the doctors” and I should explain why that’s plural. The QEH has what are called ”hospitalists”. This is a team of doctors, ten to twelve, who support all the patients in the hospital. I’m told by one of the hospitalists that this is a relatively new system in Canada, but is used in many other countries. By relatively new, I mean in the last decade or so. This doctor (hospitalist) said if you asked many Canadians what a hospitalist is they likely wouldn’t know. But if you asked a European, they would probably instantly know what you meant. The hospitalists work with the various specialists throughout to obtain the best possible care for each patient. My experience with this system has been positive. I’ve dealt with four different hospitalists and they are quite good at sharing information on me and with me.

 

The doctors suspect that I still have pneumonia in my lungs. I’m told it’s difficult to see the pneumonia because of all the fibrosis, but given the rapid decline in my breathing a week ago, they believe there is still some infection in there. They’ve put me on a specific antibiotic to fight the pneumonia. Fingers crossed.

 

For the past two days I have been able to do tai chi foundational exercises about 10 minutes twice a day. That too is progress.

 

Bottom line is that I’m getting a little more oxygen in my system which is giving more energy. I’m not where I was, but I have improved, marginally.

 

A nod of thanks to Jill and Bernie for the good food. While the hospital for is good, this added some nice flavour to my life. And as always, Mary is helping me keep going in so many ways.

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