As I am sure most of my friends know, John(my b/f of the past 6 yrs) has been in the hospital for the past 6 1/2 weeks with kidney failure and then a mass of other issues on top of that. So many times in the past 6 weeks, things were looking really good and then within hours it seemed like it would make a huge turn for the worse. Be it the swelling in his neck that closed his wind pipe, the unexplained fevers of 104 for a week or more at a time and the docotrs not finding anything that caused them, several lung infections, a collapsed lung, unexplained raises in his heart rate and crazy low blood presure... just to name a few things... Well after 6 long weeks, we talked the doctors into trying to remove his sedation. In the past when they tried, John would beome very angry and fight to get out of bed, so they would resedate him again. Friday after talking with his doctors we found no reason for him to be sedated any longer and pretty much told them that they are going to have to deal with his reactions no matter when they lift the sedation, be it that day or weeks in the future. It tok a while to get the doctors to agree to trying to lift it again, but they agreed to do it aslong as I was able to be there when they did it.
I am so happy to say that this weekend they have lifted most of the sedation. John is responding and asking for things. I was able to help him stay calm during this and he is reacting very well, aside from getting tired often. They are also taking him off the ventilator for short periods of time (between 4-6 hours) to help him build back his breathing in hopes that within a week he will not need the ventilator at all.
To some, this may seem like small steps, but to me it has made all the tears, heart break and let down of the past 6 weeks all worth it. Christmas was the perfect time for this to happen. For as long as I am alive, this will be remembered as the most wonderful gift I have ever gotten.
