Last 48 Hours

24/08

Last night, Gabriel spent a rather stable night at Paula’s side.

At around 4am, Manuela joined him. Later that morning, the doctor came to see us and told us that yesterday, we’d really come close to a return to the ICU (intensive care unit).

He did everything he could to avoid it, even administering Precedex directly in the room. A procedure normally reserved for ITUs. His objective was clear: to avoid another intubation for Gabriel. We narrowly avoided a catastrophe, which reminds us how fragile Gabriel remains and how vigilant we must remain.

Fortunately, the day also brought progress.

Gabriel managed two short sessions with the NIV machine. This machine is the same as the one used for intubation, but here in non-invasive mode: a mask over his nose exerts pressure to help him breathe, strengthen his lungs and reopen certain areas weakened by scarring and atelectasis.

According to a physiotherapist who seems to know a lot about the subject, the machine and mask are not the best way to help him. We asked the hospital for a Philips Trilogy Evo machine and a Soft Baby respireo mask.

Finally, tomorrow will see the start of his third pulsotherapy, with a high dose of corticosteroids (30 mg per kilo).

The aim is to reduce or even halt the inflammation caused by bronchiolitis obliterans, and thus prevent the disease from progressing further.

We need your help 🙏

Today, I have a very important request for you.

We’re preparing an action plan for the next stage, which will involve several phases.

Some of them will require the support of a committed community, capable of carrying out small, simple but collective actions.

👉 For example, by liking or sharing publications at the right time, we can amplify our communication and give more impact to our fight for Gabriel.

That’s why I invite you to leave your email address below.

Why email?

Because it’s the most direct and least intrusive way of contacting you if you don’t come to the blog.

I promise never to spam you: you will receive :

• only, at specific times, clear instructions on what to do (share, like… to tickle the social network algorithms)
• big news from Gabriel’s battle,
• invitations to association support events,
• and so much more!

The more of us there are, the stronger we’ll be.

Together, we can make a real difference and support Gabriel in his fight.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your help 💙

About 250 of you read the news every day. We hope to have 250 emails to start with 😉

23/08

An emotional day!

The night had started well, but by 4 a.m. Gabriel was very tired.

We had to call in an emergency physio, who came and sucked him up.

Then he was a little better.

By 7 a.m., he was again extremely tired.

The doctor came by and told us he was going to try an emergency procedure, and if that didn’t work, we’d have to consider a return to the UTI… Panic on board.

He administered two aerosols that he had removed the day before, then placed a catheter in her arm with Precedex to soothe her.

And it worked!

He seems to have suffered a bronchospasm: the bronchial tubes contract strongly, become very narrow and air can no longer get through.

Then we tried to decide what to do for the day: should we continue with the NIV machine or not? No one seemed quite sure.

Finally, they tried the machine again, but Gabriel couldn’t stand it.

The afternoon was more stable. Gabriel underwent blood tests, including arterial blood gas.

Everything was fine, except for an excess of oxygen in the blood, probably due to hyperventilation. His oxygen intake was therefore slightly reduced in the evening (1 to 0.8).

As I write these lines, he has been smiling at us non-stop for over an hour, trying to communicate with us.

What a pleasure!

Good night to all