Last night, Gabriel was quite stable. Geraldine and I were by his side. He woke up several times, then managed to go back to sleep each time. His cough remains dry, as it has for the past few days, and both last night and today he had several bouts of diarrhea.
At the same time, Manuela unfortunately developed conjunctivitis. We don’t yet know whether it’s viral or bacterial in origin. If we put this together with Gabriel’s symptoms, it could be an adenovirus. For this reason, the hospital launched a battery of blood tests today to find out more. Results are expected tomorrow.
During the day, we also learned from an X-ray yesterday that one of the atelectasias in his lung had worsened slightly. One of the solutions to help him combat this atelectasis is NIV (non-invasive ventilation). Gabriel has regular sessions with this machine. But sometimes, like today, he can’t stand it and starts crying a lot. It’s very difficult for us, because we know that he needs it and that it’s good for him in the long term, but seeing him suffer remains a real daily struggle.
Despite all this, Gabriel retains his energy and breathes with his usual mechanics, specific to his pathology.
On a more personal note, last night I discovered what it literally means to “sleep standing up”. For the first time in my life, I fell asleep standing up, and woke up when I fell. A strange and revealing experience of accumulated fatigue.
Finally, this evening, his Aunt Jacqueline, Gabriel’s godmother, arrived at the hospital. She will spend the night at Gabriel’s side with Geraldine.
