When I next woke up, I was finally warm again. The cooling blankets were gone, and I didn't feel as crappy but still not great. I looked around and saw Will sleeping in the chair next to me. The tube is still in my throat and my wrists are still tied to the bed. I must have made some kind of noise because Will woke up and was inches from my face in a second. Will "Hey Jay, you're doing good okay. The fever went down, and your vitals are improving". I tried to talk but couldn't. Will "Don't try to talk Jay you still have the breathing tube in. Hopefully they will take that out tomorrow. Just go with the machine." I pulled my wrist on the restraints. Will "I know you want those off but give it a little bit. Once I know you aren't going to pull the tube out then I'll take them off. Okay." Will turned the TV on for me to watch but it was hard to focus, and I felt myself drifting to sleep on and off a few times before my team walked in.
Erin came straight to me and grabbed my hand, and everyone gathered around my bed. I was odd because I couldn't communicate with them, and I also had a hard time following conversations. I'm guessing from the sedation and medications. I closed my eyes at some point and then felt someone rubbing my chest. I opened my eyes and there was April. April "Hey Jay there you are. You had us worried for a minute there." "Damn Jay why are you so difficult" Will said while laughing. I assumed I didn't wake up at first when April tried to wake me by the reactions everyone was giving.
My team left and it was just me and Will again until Natalie came in. Natalie went over my numbers for the day and then did her own exam. Natalie" Jay you are looking pretty good, and I like your numbers. So, if everything goes smooth tonight then we'll take you off the vent in the morning.". Natalie smiled and patted my chest. The morning couldn't come fast enough. I am so ready to get this tube out. Will took the restraints off and it felt nice to be able to move my arms.
At 2:30 am I woke up feeling like there was an elephant on my chest. I felt like I couldn't breathe even with the vent. Alarms started going off. People rushed in and Will jumped towards me. I had to get the vent out. My hands grip the tube, but Will was there before I could really make any progress with getting it out. All the nurses and Will were holding me down. Natalie "he isn't getting enough oxygen". Will "He needs Ecmo". Natalie started giving orders and people were rushing around.
Will "Jay listen, your blood doesn't have enough oxygen in it. Thats why it's harder for you to breathe. They are going to put you on the Ecmo machine. That will take your blood out and put more Oxygen in it and then put it in your body. They're going to put a catheter in your neck and another one in your other groin to pull and replace your blood." What is Will talking about. I couldn't follow anything. They just need to take the tube out! The next thing I knew was people running in with all this equipment. Natalie "give him sedation, we need him to calm down".
Something burned in my arm, and I felt myself become heavy. My gown was ripped off and someone was at my neck with large needles jabbing them in. I felt needles being jabbed into my groin too. I started to feel lightheaded and couldn't keep track of what was going on. Will was in my sight trying to say something encouraging to me, but I couldn't understand him. This was too much I can't handle all this. I was willing myself to black out but couldn't. I guess my heart rate showed my panic because I heard Natalie ordered more sedation. The burning feeling returned and then nothing.
When I woke, I felt burning pain in my neck and groin. What the hell is in my neck. I tried to touch my neck, but I found I was restrained again. I started to struggle against them but couldn't get them to give. My panic was rising, and it made some alarms go off the were behind my head. Suddenly, Will was there. Will "Hey Jay, calm down you're okay." Will was rubbing my head and shushing me. Will "Jay, you're okay. They started the Ecmo. You just need to stay on that for a few days and then it can stop, and we can take the vent out. I know you thought it was going to be taken out today, but the situation changed. Just give it a few more days." I can't take it anymore. I couldn't stop the tears and the overwhelming feeling of doom. Will "Jay, you're going to be fine. I know it's a lot, but it will be okay. You just need keep calm." Alarms were still going off and Natalie and April walked in. Natalie "Jay, just keep calm okay. You're gonna be fine, okay." Natalie "We need to sedate him, his heart rate and blood pressure are through the roof. Jay we're gonna keep you sedated while on the Ecmo, okay when you wake up next. It will be gone." The next thing I knew was darkness.
Waking up this time was different, I felt lighter. My neck wasn't hurting, and I could move it. My wrists were free, and the vent was gone. I started coughing and moving around. I feel better than I have felt in a while. My chest still ached but way more manageable than before. My vision was swimming a bit, and I felt nauseous but overall, not like death. It was a few more minutes until Will walked into the room. Will "Oh My God Jay your awake". He rushed over to me and patted my chest. Will "How are you feeling buddy?" It took me a few breaths, but I was able to sort of whisper "Better". Will "Good, try not to talk too much, you had the vent in for a while. Let me get you some water". Will returned and helped me with drinking some water. It was the strangest yet most familiar thing.
Jay "What happened?"
Will "Jay, man you have made me age 20 years. You were shot, had a seizure, had a high fever and wasn't getting enough Oxygen. When you do something, you go full force." Will chuckled a bit.
Jay "How long asleep?" I couldn't really speak in full sentences yet.
Will "since coming in you have been here for 10 days."
Jay "10 days"
Will "Yeah, you were really sick little brother. But you're doing much better now. The Ecmo was stopped yesterday, and the vent was removed this morning. You have been holding your own."
Jay "sleepy".
Will "yeah, buddy go back to sleep. You need a lot of rest and you're going to be tired for a while since you're recovering."
The next time I woke Will was a mother hen and fixing my covers and checking my vitals himself.
Jay "What are you doing?"
Will "Just making sure you're comfortable and vitals are good. Which they are."
Jay "mother hen".
Will "Well get use to it because this is going to be a thing until you are fully well again, maybe even after that since you really freaked me out."
I laughed.
Will "Natalie will be in soon to complete and assessment. Tomorrow if all goes well you could be moved off the ICU floor to the regular unit."
Jay "Kay".
Just then and Natalie walked in. Natalie "Hey Jay how are you doing?"
Jay "Okay".
Natalie "Good to hear let's just get some vitals and do a few things make sure we are where we need to be."
Natalie did all her checks and stated, "Looking good so far". She came in several times after that and completed the same checks each time and each time stating, "you're doing really well Jay." Once morning came and Natalie completed her checks again and said "Alright everything still looks good. So, I think you can be moved off the ICU floor into the regular unit."
Jay "sounds good".
Will "awesome Jay that's really good news."