Hospital at Home

Hello everyone, just to let you know Michael is in the hospital….at home. Tuesday he came down with a bit of a cough, by Thursday morning he had a fever and a really bad cough. We took him in and they popped him on a steroid and two antibiotics and took blood cultures from his PICC line “just in case”. The hematology ward was full up and a lot of things were going around the main ward so they wanted to try to keep him home if at all possible as we could do aerosals around the clock, antibiotics, etc. but if we weren’t comfortable they would admit us. Michael was a little nervous as he had felt it was so hard to breathe that morning that it scared him, but we agreed to give it a go and if it got any worse we would come back. Friday morning they called and said his blood had come back positive and he needed the big gun antibiotic vancomycin through IV. Since he has the PICC they set up home nursing and IV treatment at home as it’s a rather long game of dosing and growing blood cultures and I can’t say I’ll miss the 9ish days at the hospital we’ve had before with it.

The only downside is that with his coughing so badly I missed being able to raise up the head of his hospital bed. Mike and Katie spent all evening Friday night shopping for a recliner for Michael so that he could sit comfortably in the living room propped up, but while he stayed in it until 5am dosing, he eventually went to his bed. Now we have discussed with Michael and doctors having a hospital bed in his room but Michael was always thrown off by that, so we use a wedge to raise the end of his bed but it could only get it so far. Yesterday morning I was texting my mom that it was rough hearing him cough after laying in the night and that I might need to reaadress the hospital bed or get the motorized bed I saw at Ikea. Well, a mini-texting fund raiser later instigated by my mom and family and friends had put together the money for the motorized bed insert that would fit in his current bed along with a new mattress for it….fast forward to afternoon and Mike ran up to Ikea and by yesterday evening we had it installed and it works beautifully! This morning his cough didn’t have that “drowning” sound that made me so sick yesterday morning and I went in to give him his aerosal and he had the head of the bed up pretty high, much higher than we could have gotten it with props so there is no question in my mind that it helped ease his breathing.

Michael wrote this last night and posted it on Facebook:

Thank you All Who have spent Thare Kind Hearts To buy me This bed.
I may feel Odd and not 100% Well looking.
(Sorry if i did not look Exited Grandma , but I was, just a tad slow) You all put your Money on me And im Very Thankful.
This Bed should make my Life a Lot Better to Be comfortable.
You all Care for Me and Im Happy To hear You All care.

I am not Alone in this world You all Seem to do your best To Help, an That Makes my life easier and safe. Once again Thank you for being all such Good Friends and Family. My Grandmas And Grandpa, Uncles and Aunts, as well as all my Cousins Liittle or big. Like a group of little Girls Who allways want to see me, and have fun and make me Grin and happy at times. You all care Even If i Do not see you Often no mater whare you are in The world. (like one Uncle who Is A Game buddy of mine as well as Perhaps an other Uncle to come.)

And don’t forget all you frainds That have helpd Me, like All you ladys that make my life intresting Yet Fun and Other things. They do call me a ladys man after all lol. my beast frainds And The ladys who seem to Be all over me lol. and at times the embarresseing Moments lol.
no mater How Hard my life Gets i will know that im not alone.

And thank you Mom and dad, You 2 Have Done So Much For me No mater What And Yet im still here, You would not Give up Even as The Others said I would not make it. Yet look at me now. Turning 21 soon And It makes me so proude that you did not Give up on me. If it wernt for you i would prob not make it. yet here I stand.  And you are all ways Close. I love you 2 with all my heart. No mater How painfull Or Miserable i am The Good Days and the Bad Days i just keep Movein On.
And thanks to my parents I got a sister Katie Who Has Cared for me So Much And like my parents She Cares with all her heart and Does her best to not let me Down she cares for me Like so Much others Yet Shes my Big Little Sister and loves me So.
oh and lets not forget my Gardean Angel.
That Cat has been So Close to me Every Time I feel Sick and Down. Hes A Fat Lazy Greedy Cat, But He Is My Fraind as well. Even if Hes just doing that for the food….lol. And My Adoped Birds who in a way i am thare dady.And even if im not Close To The Dog He Seems To Care for m as well. I Belive That Are pets Have A heart To worry and Make Us Happy when they Can.

I have A Throne i have A New Bed. I May not be feelin Grand I may be in a wheel chair and attached to a Machine.
But Im Alive And stand strong in Heart i may not be Perfect i have My Trubbles From these many Years and to think Im turning 21 This Year Shortly.  And Its all thanks To Every One Who Cares.

I echo what he said, thank you everyone who has cared and supported us over the years, we couldn’t have done it without you. Please keep him in your thoughts/prayers, his coughing is pretty bad right now and he is quite shaky, the steroids are agitating him but tomorrow will be his last dose of those and the x3 antibiotics are messing his stomach up but I can’t believe any infection will be able to withstand the onslaught of all of them!