Just off the phone with David and Miche, both. 4:10EST
The extubation was successful. Steve is breathing on his own. It is too soon to tell if he will be able to maintain this long-term, but so far so good.
Steve does have pneumonia, and as David characterized it this is common when a patient experiences long-term intubation and immobility. The lungs are made up of thousands of balloons, and when a patient is immobile and breathing on a ventilator, etc some portions of the lung collapse and are vulnerable to infection.
Steve’s temperature is down, however he is also disoriented… he is not fully aware, nor is he talking. He neck is fully secure, of course, but he is moving his head around; agitated. It remains important to keep him calm. We think the agitation and disorientation is due to the prolonged sedation, and are hoping that his general orientation will improve.
Miche also describe that as she held his hand there was faint movement in his fingers; an encouraging sign.
Their next visit with him is in a few hours, and we’ll post an update later this evening.