Pleasant Surprises

Brett in recovery

Sometimes we get pleasant surprises on this journey. Originally the plan was to come in Monday (yesterday) for the pH probe. Then our doctor called on Sunday and said his throat cultures from last Tuesday (the day he got admitted because of the rapid breathing and lung infiltrate) grew 4 colonies of the dreaded Psuedomonas. Therefore, he wanted to do a bronchoscopy (hereafter referred to as "bronch")  to see what the Brett's lungs looked like inside, and to see whether the Pseudomonas is in fact in his lungs.

Bronchs are only done on Tuesdays and Fridays. We had good fortune and were able to get scheduled for today, Tuesday. They had reserved a pH probe for Brett and we were planning to stay the night to get that test done. Once we got to the pre-op room, our doc told us that the pH probe they had reserved for Brett broke down, so we were going to do it tomorrow night instead. He just felt as though Brett was really going to need to be hit hard with IV antibiotics for this illness, and that would mean placing a more permanent IV line so we could finish the treatments at home. Whenever you start IV antibiotics, you have to stay 3-4 days or so to make sure the levels are correct for bodyweight.

I went to wait and they came back when he was done and said that his lungs looked clear! There was a tiny bit of fluid as you would expect to see with this infection, but hardly any at all. The lungs were of course inflamed, but since the airways were clear, we were able to start Brett on an inhlaled antibiotic and go home! The pH probe has just been put on hold for awhile until we get this infection more under control.

The inhaled antibiotic is called TOBI, and most CFers have had experience with it. Brett's going to do 21 days on, 21 days off to begin with, then perhaps get another bronch done. Bur really, who can say? Things can change so fast with Brett's status and with treatment decisions and hospital schedules. They may not decide to do another bronch at all. So while they were in Brett's lungs they did some washes to help clear his airways further and also to obtain samples to culture. If what grows are the same bugs that the throat culture grew, then we stay the course of treatment. If they are different, there may be an adjustment of medications. It takes about 5-7 days for the cultures to mature. He has an appointment with his GI doctor in the morning so I'll be driving out there again to do that. But I'd rather sleep at home and drive out there than stay overnight!

Oh, another thing: my mom asked who took the photo above because she thought it was so perfect with the lighting and the angle and all. I actually was just sitting there holding him and reached out with my iPhone and snapped the pic of us! It turned out really good!