Tuesday Update For Ben

Ben was on a weaning trial again this morning. He let me know that his belly still hurt him and that he was feeling a little nauseous. His belly was softer due to the paracentesis but still distended. I was told they took another 5.3 liters of fluids out yesterday. A physical therapist came in and worked with Ben for 20 minutes. Dennis (Ben's nurse) came in and gave Ben something to try to make his nausea go away. The respiratory therapist came in and told me that they kept Ben on the weaning trial yesterday for 8 1/2 hours and that he did very well. They had started him this morning at 7:30 AM and he was still on it when I left at 1:00 PM. The R/T said that if Ben continues to do this well, they will take him off of the ventilator and put him on a Aeromist. He told me that it is a portable device and that when on it, Ben would be breathing totally on his own, but that if need be, they could put him back on the ventilator at any time. So it appeared to me that the hospital was trying to totally wean him of the vent which is great. I didn't see Dr. Kim at the hospital today, but when I got home, he called me and said that he was thinking about sending Ben back to All Saints this afternoon. I told him he'd better call Dr. Shantha because Ben's belly still fills up with fluids every 3 or 4 days. Plus I said since Ben was doing so well on the weaning that I didn't want it to stop once he got to All Saints. Dr. Kim said he would call her. I called Moon (my social worker at All Saints) and told her that they would be getting a call and she transferred me to Dr. Shantha who had just spoke with Dr. Kim. She told him that she did not want Ben back if his belly needs to be tapped every 3 or 4 days plus she told me that she would not continue the weaning process if she didn't think it was time because she does things her way and Kaiser does things another way and they are NOT the same. Dr. Kim called me back and told me about his conversation with Dr. Shantha and I told him about what she said to me and he decided to keep Ben at the hospital for a few more days to wean him from the vent there and to see if the Lasix they are giving him will stop the fluids from staying in his belly. I don't know what will happen if the fluids keep coming back because Dr. Shantha has made it very clear that she will not take Ben back if she has to keep sending him back and forth to the hospital every 3 to 4 days for a paracentesis.