Thursday, 5/26

Well, the "honeymoon period" has ended. We had an amazing 2 weeks (almost) which makes today even harder. They were retaping the area around Dinky's breathing tube this morning when he got really mad, "clamped down" and had another big episode where his heartrate and oxygenation dropped significantly. Fortunately the doctors were rounding on him at the time so they were right there, but it was very scary. The surgeon came by shortly thereafter and said it's just "too dangerous" to wait on his airway. Something has to be done. So the plan is to do another bronchoscopy within a week to look at it one more time. While they are there they will also have to put something in to "dilate" his esophagus as it is apparent it has a stricture, or narrowing, so it's connected but it's like an hour glass.

In terms of the airway they will either do the little suture to hold it open or do a tracheostomy which he would then have for several years. He'll talk to us about these options in more detail after the bronch. Initially they had said there might be the option to take out the damaged part of his airway but today he said it's like "rotten wood", you just wouldn't know when to stop. So it's been a pretty upsetting day.

Before I knew I would have all of this bad news to write I was just planning to write about Martin. I want to do it anyway. In the past 4 months (more if you count my time on bed rest) Martin has continued to work, teach, handle all of the details of our buying a house, have dinner waiting for me whenever I come home from the hospital, and still spend more time at his son's bedside than most fathers (even if he is reading the American Journal of Sociology to Dinky :) I have observed some other families in our situation and the limited, or lack of, support. I think I am quoting either my granddaddy or uncle Gordon when I tell you, "I am a lucky duck".