Another Answer/Important Update

TJ was just put on another drug, Rifampin, a strong anti-biotic. MA says, "Basically he is on the same drugs that worked last year. But that could change when they get cultures back [in order to determine what the infection is] which can take up to 72 hours." Depending on what the cultures show that drugs he is on may change.

In good news, his SATS are at 97 (remember that a glossary was setup last time round) with his C-PAP (a machine for sleep apnea that keeps a continuous pressure on the lungs, as opposed to actually being put on a ventilator which forces the lungs to stay at a certain pressure).

Someone I was chatting with asked:

Are we in the same stage we were last year but this is attacking more rapidly?

I am just going to give you the transcript of the chat for the answer:

(1:24:29 AM) jon-lappy: No
(1:24:34 AM) jon-lappy: There are a couple of differences
(1:24:51 AM) jon-lappy: Odds are he doesn't have one of the worst viruses in the world at this point [aka MRSA, pretty much a once in a lifetime thing]
(1:25:11 AM) jon-lappy: We are still about half a step away from the blog entry I assume you are referring to. [The last blog entry] [He also is not in a coma, dealing with a failing mitral valve, among other things.]
(1:25:30 AM) jon-lappy: In a few hours (probably under 24) we'll know whether things are getting really bad or not.
(1:25:54 AM) jon-lappy: Septic shock does not move slowly. It comes in fast and goes out fast when you get out of it.
(1:26:23 AM) jon-lappy: In essence, it is all of your vital organs shutting down as the body hits the point where it cannot deal with the infection anymore.
(1:26:35 AM) jon-lappy: So the infection either gets cleared up or it doesn't.
(1:27:08 AM) jon-lappy: When any organ starts going haywire the rest start to follow in general, so going the bad way it is like dominos.
(1:27:26 AM) jon-lappy: Going the good way everything just starts working again as the immune system kicks in again.

To give some analogies:

• If you have a heart attack everything else shuts down rapidly due to lack of oxygen.
• If you get pneumonia everything else becomes less effective as your body fights the pneumonia while not getting as much oxygen as it needs in the first place, which can lead to more problems.
• If you have liver or kidney problems, the rest of the body starts getting poisoned as the toxins that are normally filtered out start to recirculate.

Like these examples it can be a vicious circle. When any vital organ fails to operate normally it puts more stress on the rest of the system -- including the immune system -- which causes greater stress and so on. However, when the antibiotics start to work the body has extra help fighting the infection, hopefully giving it enough power to restore normal, if minimal, function to everything else.