Bobby 'Bob Dole' Grunsted

Well, Bobby's on Viagra. Along with its more popularly known use, Viagra is excellent at controlling pulmonary hypertension. High pressure in the lungs reduces the rate of blood flow and lowers oxygen levels. Two days into his Viagra usage, Bobby is saturating in the mid 80s, which is just where we want him to be. (Note: technically, pulmonary hypertension is a very serious, irreversible condition that is fatal in a few years. Bobby doesn't have that. He has high pressure in his lungs that he will grow out of.)

Its our seventh day in the hospital, so we quite appropriately had a day of rest. Except for an MRI, we have hung out in the room and slept most of the day. Bobby's vital signs have been excellent so its been a nice day. Nanny Beth spent the day with us so Bobby had an admirer/playmate and I got a lot of extra rest.

Tomorrow morning is our next try at extubation. This will happen in the operating room this time, with ENT doctors there to assess any issues. Hopefully the swelling in his airways has gone down and he won't have the same issues as last time. I'm anticipating the whole thing with a mixture of high hopes and nausea.

Valerie met the grandpa of our ICU suite mate last night. She is the little girl that shares a wall with us. One year old Alejandra is the 2nd person in Illinois to receive a Berlin heart, an artificial heart that will hopefully keep her safe until she can receive a transplant. Might be that Bobby is soaking up a little bravery from Alejandra, she's survived a lot already. Her grandfather is visiting from Guadalajara, Mexico - he has moved into the hospital over the last few months to look over her while the parents work and take care of the rest of the family. Hopefully Valerie and I can soak up a little of the love and patience that takes.

Here's a few pictures of Bobby from yesterday. The monitor is more riveting than any TV show - I stare at it constantly. It gives his heart rate, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, arterial blood flow, central veinous pressure, and blood pressure. Keeping him stable is the constant juggling of all those readings in their appropriate range. It's Mama A's 'stories'.

The drawing on the glass door is a depiction of the work done during the cardiac catheterization. The cardiologist gave an ad hoc lecture to the fellow on the door of Bobby's room. I'd explain it, but the procedure is fairly self evident once you see the diagram ;-)