9:41 AM
The night was marked by a few episodes of mild fever (37.7°C at max).
This morning’s blood test results show partly better and partly slightly worse results compared to yesterday, but they remain difficult to interpret without medical training.
We are waiting for the doctor’s opinion.
3:28 PM
This afternoon, we had an update with the doctor. He took the time to explain the situation to us, and as always, we’re torn between good news and areas of concern.
I’ll try to summarize simply (I might make mistakes since it’s a lot of medical information)
Overall, Gabriel’s condition remains stable, even though each organ is following its own evolution a bit.
Today’s improvements:
The bilirubin in the blood has decreased. This is what causes jaundice. It indicates that the liver is managing to process it better and/or that dialysis is doing its job of elimination well.
The kidneys are also doing a bit better.
Regarding breathing, the lungs continue to improve. The team was able to reduce the oxygen concentration in the tube (40%), which shows that he needs less of it. (For information, in the air, there is 21%).
Sedatives have been lightened, and instead, a new lighter treatment will be introduced: methadone, which allows for gentle sedation while reducing the side effects of other more aggressive medications.
Nutrition is being increased to provide him with more energy and gently restart intestinal activity.
The goal, at this stage, is also for him to resume a more regular digestive rhythm.
Another important development:
The doctor has decided to stop Primacor (milrinone), the last medication still active on the heart.
This medication helps improve cardiac contraction and dilate blood vessels to reduce the workload on the heart.
Being able to remove it shows that Gabriel’s cardiac function has stabilized. This is an important milestone.
Points of vigilance:
Dialysis has been adjusted because it was removing a bit too much fluid. So it had to be rebalanced.
The liver remains under surveillance: certain markers (AST and ALT) are rising again today. The doctor prefers to wait a few more days before drawing conclusions. If the trend doesn’t reverse, a liver specialist (a gastroenterologist) might intervene.
Gabriel also has a small bump on the back of his skull. It appears to be an edema related to the ECMO (the machine that assisted him for a while), probably due to his immobility. Nothing alarming for now, it should resolve naturally.
On his back, a small infection (beginning of a pressure sore) is still present. They’re applying a cream to prevent any worsening.
Finally, the CRP level (infection indicator) has risen slightly (20->33), which could indicate a resurgence of “infection. The” team has therefore resumed antibiotics.
Ongoing treatment:
Gabriel is again receiving two very powerful antibiotics: vancomycin and meropenem. These are heavy treatments…
We would have preferred to avoid them, as their side effects are not insignificant. But at this stage, the doctor told us he was afraid of a relapse, so he’s not taking any risks.
And then?
A blood culture is scheduled for today to check if an infection is circulating in the blood. We should know more about this in the coming days (it takes up to a week).
Conclusion
Our little Gabriel has just gone through an immense ordeal.
Even though he is starting to wake up, he is still very fragile.
He needs to continue fighting to definitively get out of all this.
On our side, we remain focused, present, and we continue to surround him with all our strength.
And we’re counting on you too. 🙂
