Update on my aunt

I spent a couple of days in Corpus this week. We sorted paperwork, cleaned and organized, and visited Tante (that's what we call her) in the ICU 3-4 times a day for about 10 minutes each time. She had become septic and they have been giving her strong IV antibiotics. She was on the ventilator (breathing tube down the throat) and very sedated and restrained because when she was awake she would pull at the tube. For the most part, she didn't know we were there or seem to have much awake time or awareness of what was happening. However, the past day or two they started to wean her from the Ativan and the ventilator so they could try to remove the tube. She was able to nod her head a little bit and track with her eyes - which was great to see.

They tried yesterday to wean her from the vent and her oxygen saturation was bad; today they were able to pull the tube - and so far she is stable. She remains in ICU and in isolation, and today and tomorrow they will be doing tests to check for lung cancer. There is risk with the tests; when they biopsy, they need to pull tissue from the edge of the lung and it could cause a lung collapse. And, there is a chance that her throat could swell shut from the tube removal or she could have other breathing trouble from the pneumonia, which would require re-intubation in the short-term and a tracheostomy a day or two later. Today is a big day in that she is able to communicate her desires and to understand her situation. She has asked appropriate questions about what has happened and how long she's been in the hospital (9 days now - 7 days on the ventilator). She has been able to consent to re-intubation if needed. She seems iffy on consenting to the trach, but if that's needed, we should have time to give her more information - and hopefully we will have more information to give regarding a cancer diagnosis. We are encouraged that she is doing better - that the tube is out and she can be more awake and aware of what is happening. Thanks to everyone for the thoughts and prayers.