Henry is a 21 year old guy that was brought to the ship from a dental clinic about 8 days ago after he pulled out his own infected tooth.When he was brought to the ship he was in bad shape. His heart rate was in the 150's, his blood pressure was low and he was really struggling to breath. The infection had taken over his mouth, jaw and right chest. He was brought to surgery emergently and they cleaned out the horrible smelling stuff that was killing him.
I received Henry from the recovery room and he had 14 penrose drains (drains that allow the exudate to leave the body to get rid of the infection) in his mouth and chest. Over the next couple of days I spent countless hours with Henry, changing his dressing, starting IVs, giving him meds, and just trying to keep him comfortable.
On Sunday and Monday they took Henry back to the OR to clean him out again. As of Sunday morning Henry was not looking good, I was starting to think maybe we would loose him too. All of this time Henry was quiet and very stoic. But on Tuesday I came in to take care of him, I almost started to cry. Henry was sitting up in a chair, the drains in his mouth were gone. I think I actually screamed in excitement and Henry started to laugh. Woohoo!! That to me was pure joy, to see a boy that was so miserable and incredibly sick, laugh. Henry still has a long way to go. His wounds are very open and really need to heal. Please pray that Henry will have no more infection and that he will recover quickly so he can go home!!!!
I received Henry from the recovery room and he had 14 penrose drains (drains that allow the exudate to leave the body to get rid of the infection) in his mouth and chest. Over the next couple of days I spent countless hours with Henry, changing his dressing, starting IVs, giving him meds, and just trying to keep him comfortable.
On Sunday and Monday they took Henry back to the OR to clean him out again. As of Sunday morning Henry was not looking good, I was starting to think maybe we would loose him too. All of this time Henry was quiet and very stoic. But on Tuesday I came in to take care of him, I almost started to cry. Henry was sitting up in a chair, the drains in his mouth were gone. I think I actually screamed in excitement and Henry started to laugh. Woohoo!! That to me was pure joy, to see a boy that was so miserable and incredibly sick, laugh. Henry still has a long way to go. His wounds are very open and really need to heal. Please pray that Henry will have no more infection and that he will recover quickly so he can go home!!!!
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