Guest Writer
NOTE: At the time of these events I did not have a definition for vasopressors. I thought staff was saying “pressers.” All I knew was that her oxygen levels were poor and so the pressors were being used to clamp down blood flow to her arms and legs and concentrate the flow to her organs and brain.
From the website everydayhealth.com comes this information: “This class of drugs can be lifesaving in emergency medical situations. Vasopressors are a group of medicines that contract (tighten) blood vessels and raise blood pressure. They’re used to treat severely low blood pressure, especially in people who are critically ill. Very low blood pressure can lead to organ damage and even death.”
Dana not only had pneumonia but had developed septic shock.
From the MayoClinic.org comes this information about sepsis: “Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening condition caused by the body’s response to an infection. The body normally releases chemicals into the bloodstream to fight an infection. Sepsis occurs when the body’s response to these chemicals is out of balance, triggering changes that can damage multiple organ systems. If sepsis progresses to septic shock, blood pressure drops dramatically. This may lead to death. Sepsis is caused by infection and can happen to anyone.”
Pneumonia is a top cause of sepsis.
From Sepsis.org: “Sepsis can do a lot of harm to your body. From shutting down the body’s organs to causing blood clots that block the flow of blood, sometimes the damage is irreparable.
“With sepsis, the blood’s clotting mechanism can go into overdrive and cause blockages inside the blood vessels. When blood can’t pass through the blood vessels, oxygen and vital nutrients can’t get to the body’s tissues. If the tissues can’t get the nourishment they need, the tissues die.
“When too much of the tissue dies, it has to be removed. Sometimes, doctors can remove just a small part, but other times, more drastic measures must be taken and parts of the body must be amputated.
“For some people, amputations are limited to their fingers or toes, or parts of them. Others, however, may need amputations of their hands, feet, even arms or legs, all in an effort to save their life.”
Comments are from Messenger:
July 19, 2018
7:54 p.m. BF wrote: I just called ICU. Her temperature has gone down to 99.3. They are going to check it again now and then. Hopefully they will do a transfusion. She’s still on the two vasopressors. They went up a little in the dose on one, but besides that she is doing good.
8:58 p.m. Just talked to nurse. He said her temperature went down then back up so they have not given her the transfusion. They have cool wash cloths on her.
July 20, 2018
6:09 a.m. BF wrote: I called the hospital. Dana got the transfusion. She’s almost down to one vasopressor.
I wrote: I just called the hospital and got the same news you got. She is stable but they still have concerns.
8:16 a.m. BF wrote: Do her toes and feet look better? Jeff said the nurses wrote with marker on them.
I wrote: I think they look better but had hoped her skin would be pinker.
BF wrote: After the vasopressors are removed there should be a big difference in her skin color.
I wrote: I’m worried about the sedatives she’s on and taking her off them to see if she becomes alert.
BF wrote: You’re worried that she’s been given too much sedative medication? She doesn’t take medication normally so it probably has hit her way harder.
1:44 p.m. I wrote: Her feet are purple but they got a pulse. They are going to do a CAT scan to look for brain activity to see if there’s a reason she’s not alert. There has been a slight improvement in her pneumonia. Her numbers are good. Her temperature is 98.3.
5:02 p.m. I wrote: She did not have a CAT scan because the neurologist isn’t available to interpret it and an interpretation of it today won’t make a difference in her treatment now. Top priority is to get all her bodily functions stable. They are repositioning the breathing tube. She has new boots on that keep her heel off the bed and flex her foot so when she is mobile she doesn’t have to overcome atrophy.
BF wrote: Do her eyes look any better?
I wrote: Not much better. The nurses put ointment on her eyes.
8:53 p.m. I wrote: Dana still has a fever so she was given Tylenol. Her awareness/alertness has not changed. The plan is to get her off the blood pressure medications and give her more Lasix.
