July 31 (Tuesday) - 1145pm

As the month of July comes to a close, tonight is one of hope and optimism.   Sam said that things tonight are "mellow" and in the world of the ICU and high tech medicine, a "mellow" night is a good thing I've come to learn.  A very good thing.

So, while there are not a lot of BIG things to report, there are some small things to tell that indicate promise and signposts that show things moving in the right direction.    For Jeannette, its been a "big" day, with an ultrasound procedure in the morning, and a full body MRI scan in the afternoon.    The MRI was an event of sorts, as she had to be transported to the room, prepped, and then brought back to the ICU.   It was a several hour ordeal, and she tolerated it all well.   The MRI results will take a day or so to glean out the important stuff, but the ultrasound detected some blood clots associated with the breaks in her arms, but that was not expected.   But knowing they are there  has required some adjustments to her meds, and she is back on a careful mix of blood thinners.

At one point in the afternoon one of the nurses asked Jeanette to "blink twice if you can hear me" and she did.   So, she is clearly awake at times, and aware of things, and Sam has been there to tell her what is going on and what things are being done.   She sometimes raisers her eyebrows as if to communicate, and while these are all small things they are big indicators and hopeful signs that things are improving.   

Rich too is "mellow" tonight, sleeping comfortably and in a world of sleep and dreams.  They have him drugged up, to allow the ventilator to get him to breath deep, pulling medicine into his lungs and helping him to fight the drug resistant pneumonia.  The plan appears to be working; his numbers are all "good" and his temperature and blood pressure and oxygen counts are all where they want them to be.   Tomorrow they plan for him to get a chest X-ray, and after that they may have a better idea of how he is responding to the treatment plan. - John