Wednesday evening, day 39. Power walking. Josh was told he could skip his heparin shot if he walked 300 feet, 3 X in a single day. He had that done by 4:00 PM. No pokes in the belly tonight. He has had this shot every 8 hours since a few days after he got here. It’s to prevent blood clots. He made sure they counted every step in PT and OT. He made sure the nurse knows he is not getting it tonight.
His belly is like a pin cushion from it.
We are still counting down for operat…ion “Maximum Flow”. They will remove the catheter tomorrow to give the flowmax as much time as possible to work. Please keep praying for this to work. Josh is concerned today because he was told that he might always have a problem with drop foot in his left foot. It can still come back also. There is just no way to know yet. This area is just not responding as well as the others. There are braces he can try for the meantime. I believe he will get it back. I refuse to believe in anything less than 100% recovery at this point. He has come to far for anything less. The bottom of his feet are extremely sensitive. They were trying to put lotion on them and it was so ticklish it was painful. He about jumped out of his skin. They made him do a full lap on the machine in the picture. It said it should take about 9 minutes. Josh said, “Challenge accepted”. He did it in 8.
Come on Josh, You got this.
I hate to have to ask again. Can we please get prayers for pee. They will me removing the catheter tomorrow or Thursday at the latest. He has been on a drug called flomax for a couple days. We need it to live up to it’s name. Josh believes he can do it this time. I hope he is correct. We don’t need this to slow this coaster at this time. We are only a couple turns from getting off this ride. We have made it through the ups and downs and e…ven a couple corkscrews. Josh impressed the psyc doctor this morning. We were asked to leave for a while so he and Josh could talk. After they were done. The doctor said “He’s not nearly as crazy as you thought” I was relieved. Josh actually opened up and said it helped. The doctor explained that he is not the only one healing. He explained that mom & dad are healing also. We had to be there and see him through some pretty rough spots. This did make sense to Josh. He still does not want to know all the details. He does not like seeing all the pictures of him on the life support. I want to explain and show him what I feel are the miracles that happened. Yes, I know doctor’s saved his life. But you can’t tell me they did not have a powerful hand guiding and helping from behind the scenes. The timing of a few events and the ability to walk out of this hospital days after what could have been a much different outcome will always be miraculous to me. I have seen things in this trauma center rehab gym that make my heart hurt. You have to ask how we got so lucky. It could have ended so much worse. I hope Josh never takes a minute of this experience for granted. I know his parents won’t. We have dodged a large bullet.
Josh knows he still has some work to do and some pains and aches to go through. He is learning that nerve pain can be as bad or worse than muscle pains or aches from trauma. He has learned that nerves regenerate at the rate of about a millimeter per day. This pain may last a while. He will learn tricks to what triggers it and what works to make it better. We don’t know if any of it is permanent yet. I really feel that in time it will go away. He has come to far for it not to.
Come on Josh, You got this.
Monday morning, day 30. Josh is in rare form this morning. He is feeling better and even pushing a few “buttons” this morning. It’s great to have him back to this point. He did not want the slide board to transfer. He used myself and his girlfriend to pull up on and then he stood and backed up into the wheelchair.Every day is showing improvement in his body and attitude. He was even talking about being able to go back to work this morning. I think he is able to see the gains being made and he likes it. He was even singing “This girl is on fire” for us as we went down the hall. ( Ya, he is feeling much better ) we made it down 9 floors on the elevator and back up with no stops. That never happens.It’s another sign that today is going to be a good day.
Come on Josh, You got this.
Monday noon, day 30. Quick update. Josh is done with dialysis accept for if needed. His numbers are looking good and he is making clean urine. ( Another answered prayer ) I keep getting asked about the samples pulled from his spine.The results after 3 days are that there was nothing unexpected that grew from the samples. That’s good news. We will continue with the antibiotics and let them do there job. Josh has had a few elevated temps in the evenings but we have not reached the fever stage in 4 days.We are definitely seeing the light at the end of this tunnel. He will keep moving forward. They say baseball is played 90 feet at a time. Football is a game of inches, and marathons are ran in miles/k’s.How ever you measure it, Josh’s got this.
Monday night, day 30. Not a lot new to report. I went home and got Josh some of his work out clothes for Rehab. He has yet to be moved. They warned us it could take a few days for insurance to get back with them. Hopefully tomorrow is the day. Josh is still in good spirits and even giving his nurses a hard time. He went without Tylenol most of the day and his temp did not start to go up until evening. One dose has put it in check.
He is trying to stretch his pain meds to 6 hours but is giving in after 5. For some reason his right foot is now his biggest source of pain. There is no obvious reason for it. He continues to fight and we continue to pray.
Come on Josh, You got this.
Come on Josh, you got this.
Froedtert Hospital
9200 W. Wisconsin Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53226
He is in on the 9th floor. Rm#8
Thanks again for the continued prayers.
Josh has had a great day. He started with dialysis and followed it up with PT and OT back to back. He then set up in his wheelchair for 45 minutes before getting in bed. He was out of bed for 2.5 hours. That’s a first in almost 30 days. The next small victory was a visit from the Rehab team. They have accepted him and are working with the insurance to see what we have to work with. We should be there Monday or Tuesday if all goes as planned. Josh just had his Foley removed and we are again praying for Pee. Yes, again. His kidneys are now producing urine and it is looking cleaner. He just needs to be able to relieve himself. Not an easy task for anyone laying on their back and using a plastic urinal. Josh, you got this.
Friday morning, day 27. Another good night followed by a good day. Josh got some good sleep. He had a very busy day yesterday. He is in a good mood this morning. I know he is feeling better when he picking on his mom. He asked her to trim a few of his finger nails and she was half afraid to do it. She started doing it anyway and he screams “ouch”, like she hurt him. She must have jumped a foot. And then he started laughing. It feels good to see him feeling better. He had another speech and memory evaluation yesterday. He really does not feel like he needs them but went along a little better then the day before. The young lady explained to him why they do it and it did make sense. We think he is ok. But there could be underlying issues that we can’t see here. I think he did really good with it again.
Tami and I are praying for clarity on a possible upcoming decision. We have thought the rehab floor here was our goal and next stop. They are now talking about the possibility of a long term care hospital for rehab. He needs to get a little better before Monday to be able to stay on the rehab floor here. They might want to move him to this rehab hospital that can take care of his issues and do the rehab at the same time. We would really like to be able to stay here and do the rehab in house. It is closer to home and gives us the use of the room that Tami has been sleeping at. It’s just a little more than a mile from this hospital. We pray that this decision will not have to be made and that the next few days go the way we want the them to go. Transport just got here to get him for dialysis. We are off.
Come on Josh, you got this.
Come on Josh, You got this.
Monday AM, week 3. Josh found the true meaning of No Pain No Gain last night. After the great news of his first pee the night kind of went South on us. Even earlier in the evening he was complaining that he wanted dialysis because of the swelling.
Well, around midnight he started hurting bad in his left knee and leg again. He thought the bandages were cutting his circulation off. ( They were loose ) It was actually his skin getting tight from major swelling. The nurse called a rapid response to get a team up here to assess the situation. They did a stat ultrasound to check the knee and thigh. They are worried about something called compartment syndrome. The fluid inside the muscle builds up inside the sheath that surrounds the muscle. It can cause sheath to rupture because it does not expand well.
The Ultrasound showed negative for compartment syndrome but the pain kept getting worse. He begged for dialysis every minutes to relieve the pressure. He refused pain meds due to what might have caused the delirium on Friday.
This was a very long night with no sleep again. He ended up also having another EKG because his breathing was getting short and painful. It came back normal. ( Thank you Lord ) early this morning the swelling had started coming down and it was decided that all of Josh’s work to stand and exercise yesterday was a bit too much for the weakened leg. He upset the leg and it let him know it. So once again we are working with the double-edged sword.
They believe the pain and the loss of feeling in his feet from the major swelling was causing him a lot of anxiety and it affected his heart rate and breathing. We are setting here this morning patiently awaiting his trip to dialysis and he literally just fell asleep while complaining that they are not here yet.
Come on Josh, You got this.
A series of posts will follow regarding the current health status of Josh Petty, 21, of West Bend who entered a Milwaukee hospital two weeks ago with flu-like symptoms.
Below is an update from his parents. For more details click HERE.
Friday afternoon, week 2. Josh is sleeping. They came in a little after noon and made him do his PT. They basically had to do it for him and hold him in positions. He was less than cooperative. He does not act like the Josh that we know. The doctor’s tell me they believe it is just this delirium. It is very hard to watch. He said things and does things that would make a sailor blush. I have to apologise a lot for him. He really is not himself. Anyway. He ate half a toasted cheese sandwich and drank a Gatorade. He is sleeping good at this time and we are waiting for another 3 hours of Dialysis.
Come on Josh, You got this.Friday, late morning. Week 2. We now have a new issue. Josh has ICU delirium. The lack of sleep and messed up night and day schedule has got him very confused. He is having trouble answering anything and just kind of stares through you when you talk to him. All his labs and vitals look good. We need prayers for Josh’s mental state and kidney production. The lack of kidney production can cause toxin build up in the body. We are waiting on another round of dialysis today.
Come on Josh, You got this.Friday morning, week 2. Today’s goal is to get Josh out of ICU. They think he is ready. I am not so sure. He seems to have taken a step back this morning with his emotional state. He is very quiet and will hardly respond to anything. Still would not sleep again. He will not talk. Not sure what happened last night but this is exactly why someone should have been here. My hope is that he is just upset and will come around. His numbers are all looking good. He is going to try to eat a little breakfast.
Come on Josh, You got this.
Wednesday night. Week 2. Josh’s C-diff test came back negative. ( thank you Lord ) we did not need that at this time. He just went for a 3 part CT. Chest, stomach, and legs. They are looking for anything to explain the elevated temps. We may not know results until morning. He is resting good this evening. Hopefully he will sleep. He has not slept all day and looks like he really needs some rest. It was great to have the air tube removed today. He has been able to communicate better. He is still quiet and acts like he is processing the past week. He asks a lot of questions when he sees a group of hospital staff together. He has had his phone some today and is starting to put together the amount of people and prayers that have been pulling for him. I think he is in a little shock by it. He still has not said much about it. I can see his wheels turning. We are taking it slow and letting the game come to him at this point. He has never backed down to a challenge and won’t start now.
Come on Josh, You got this.Wednesday afternoon week 2. Josh is still doing well. He has spiked a 102.5 fever and we are seeing some concern. They are testing him for C-diff. I guess this is not unusual for people that get large doses of antibiotics. We now have to ware gowns as well as masks to see him only a precaution right now. The problem is that Josh is so awake and alert now that everything concerns him he is worrying about everything and it is causing him get worked up. Hopefully the results can come back soon and be negative. Please continue to pray and ask for kidney production and infection control. These are our two big hurdles right now.
Come on Josh, You got this.
Feb. 21, 2018 – West Bend, WI – Josh Petty of West Bend is entering week two of being in the hospital following flu-like symptoms. A recent post by his father Dwayne is below.
Monday night update. Week 2. The echo results came back the same. The size has not changed. They say it can take some time. We were setting with Josh and I had to let him know that he needed to let his girlfriend go home early tonight to get some sleep. He shook his head like to say ok. A little later he was acting upset or bothered. We started the Josh is trying to tell us something game. He was drawing a circle in the air and pointing towards his left wrist. “Watch” I said, “you want a watch”. He shook his head no. ( You idiot ) I could read the look on his face. Finally, I said “you want to know what time it is”? He nodded in relief. His mom told him it was 6:30 at night. He was looking worried again I had a feeling I knew why. “You don’t want to be here all night alone do you”, I said. He looked down at his feet and shook his head no. I rubbed his forehead and told him I will be here all night with him. I would hate to know what is running through his tired little head after this week. Whatever it is, I won’t let it bother him tonight. He has enough stuff to worry about. Josh can remember almost everything from the last week as far as I can tell. I really wish that was not the case. We are still making progress and starting to see a path out of the forest. We have a long walk to get him home.
Come on Josh, You got this.
Feb. 17, 2018 – West Bend, WI – Since the original post two days ago about Josh Petty of West Bend and his battle with flu-like symptoms at Froedtert Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, there’s been requests for an update.
Below is the latest on Josh’s condition from his dad Dwayne. Links will follow to get you directly to the family’s page.
LAST UPDATE FROM DWAYNE PETTY Feb. 17, 2018 at 6:22 p.m.
Come on Josh, YOU GOT THIS. Well my earlier post was a little premature. The heart infection is an extremely serious issue. We are now in the bottom of the Ninth deep in the count. I am setting in Josh’s room with his Grandpa. We are only telling him that his heart is sick and we are going to fix it in the morning. I have explained that he is deep in the count and he needs to just keep swinging.
Step up and protect the plate. He is ready to do the work and like always he is up to the task. We are going to ware this infection out like we have so many pitchers in the past. We are going keep making it throw pitches and foul them off until it makes a mistake. When we get the pitch we like we will take him deep until they have to pull him out of the game.
I have no doubt he is up to the task. This boy can be “clutch” when it counts. I’ve seen it many times.
The procedure is relatively simple they tell me. ( YA ) We just go in and remove the infected valve. ( Tri-cuspid ) the infection is hopefully out. All the risk is post surgery complications from his weekend state. There are two many to talk about. They keep telling me his age and ability to come back from what should have already killed him twice makes them believe we have a chance.
( That honest doctor’s words ) people ask me how I’m writing this stuff. Well, staring at a wall or TV screen and not seeing anything is not going to make it go away.
If I am being real about it and thinking about my son, than it helps make it a little easier. There is nothing easy about it. My eyes are two dry desserts because at this moment there is no more fluid to flow. It can show up at any time. Surgery is around 7:30 tomorrow (Sunday). We won’t know anything until after noon.
He is being moved to the cardiac ICU any time. Much larger room and state of the art. His surgeon came to this hospital from the Mayo clinic and we are told he is tops in his field. He made a good first impression. Please, please, please pray for my son and this family because we need him back.
Come on Josh, You got this. One last thing Josh. If we can’t take him deep. You can always hit a dribbler and run it out. Get on first and then steel your ass home like I have seen you do a million times. Your choice. #YOUGOTTHIS
Click HERE for direct updates.
Posted on February 15, 2018
UPDATE from Josh‘s sister, Ashlee.
Well guys, in all honesty I’ve been reluctant to give a update because I wanted to make sure I had something positive to throw in there as well. And, for a while there we really didn’t have anything to cling to again. We started the day off waiting for Josh to wake up. He had been off of sedation meds since last night. He started waking up this morning. We went through a 30 minute period of enduring a extremely ticked off Josh. He wanted the tube out and he made it very clear that he didn’t want to wait on anyone to remove it. At that time he was responding to most commands but he also still seemed rather disoriented.
He was squeezing my hand like crazy during this time. When the Dr asked him to move his feet it did take him a couple times but we were clearly able to see both feet move once. The tube was then removed shortly after this. The tube was out for a short period of time before we found out Josh was pulling in CO2 as well as oxygen. During this time the CAT scan taken earlier was also pulled up and it became clear that there was more fluid in his lungs (pneumonia) than what there was the previous day.
So, all in all he was very quickly re intubated. During all this he was not given any additional sedation meds. The Dr ordered that Josh be hooked up to a EEG machine to monitor his brain activity because Josh is not responding to commands. And he is not sedated in any way at this time. I have seen him grimace and clench his eyes shut as the nurse does things that he isn’t crazy about.
But at this time he isn’t opening his eyes or squeezing our hands when we need him to. I’m not sure how to ask for any more out of you guys than what we already have, but we need the prayers continued. We need our prayer warriors at the front line ready for battle!! We couldn’t have made it this far without you guys! You keep us going! You are giving us the fight that we need! We will never give up! We are here and ready to fight whatever is sent our way! ??????
Click HERE for more of the story from his family and during this Lenten season if we could take a moment and offer a prayer for Josh.
Thanks for the updates on Josh. I have been praying every day for him and will continue to do so. Hang in there Josh. You can do it!