A step in the wrong direction...

Well, I am here posting again after a great visit with PJ. Not everything went his way tonight, he is still having intermittent problems saturating oxygen in his lungs. Particularly when he laid on his back and side this evening. Because of that, he gets to stay in the bed for another 24 hours. The nurses seem to say that this is normal behavior, and that most patients go through this. His fever was gone when I left, and they believe that they have found the culprit (a nasty little bug they tell me) and they are dealing with it. We are simply waiting on the lungs to heal, and that is not happening as fast as most of us would like. They put him back to 100% oxygen this evening, and were getting ready to roll him over on his belly when I left. They bathed him tonight, and I finally got to see him laying on his back for a while. The swelling is going down day after day, and his burns are healing great. It is just a waiting game to this point. So not the best of days in PJ land, but things could be much worse. They keep telling me we will have some set backs, and it appears that PJ is having a slight setback tonight. Pray for a good night, and a good couple of days.

That is all for now, as always keep the thoughts and prayers coming.

11/29 Evening Post from Chris

Just returned from a very nice 3 hour visit with PJ. PJ had a rough evening last night, his respiration was not doing what they would have wanted it to do. Having said that, he had a much better day. So his lung volume (?) was over 800 all day, which is good. In fact they changed the pressure from 15 to 14 while I was there, which is also a good thing. His fever was mild all day 100.4, but when I left it was creeping up to 102.4 so getting a bit high. His oxygen level is 40 % which is what we want with his oxygen level in his body was at 98% when I left. He is still in the space bed spinning on his belly for 3 hours and on his back 2 hours. If he can have a good evening tonight, finger's crossed, they will take him off of the spinning bed and start to cut back the medicine that is paralyzing him.

Keep your fingers crossed, and keep those thoughts and prayers coming.

11/ 29 Update from Chris Part II

I talked to the nurse this morning. They were in the process of changing his bandages. They said that they did Bronch him this morning, and did not get much from his lungs. His X-ray is still showing some slight collapse in the back so they are wanting to keep him in the bed another night to make sure they can get this out. He did have a slight fever through the night, but the nurse did not seem to concerned about that. Not sure if I am speaking the terms right yet, but that is what I wrote down. So, one more night in the space bed, and hopefully things will be better in the morning for PJ. I will be visiting him later this afternoon, as soon as I am finished working for the day. Should be about 3:30 Pacific time.

That is what I know for now, so you know what I know. Please keep the thoughts and prayers coming.

11/28 Update from Chris

Hello everyone,

Well I was able to get to San Diego and Steve and I went straight to the hospital. I got to see PJ in his space bed that spins him like a rotisserie. He wears his Darth Vader mask and was on his belly spinning around. The good news is that today, as long as everything continues to go well, he will be removed from that bed and placed back in a more normal bed. I thought that PJ looked great. We sat and talked to him for a few hours, it was wonderful to be able to talk to him. While we were there, his fever was mild, 101 degree and he was oxygenating very well at the time. His face looked wonderful, even with the little bit of swelling that had occurred. I am working from PJ's house this morning, and I will call up again in a few minutes after the shift change to find out his schedule. My plan is to go the hospital at about 3 pm here and visit as long as I can.

I will update more when I hear it. So far things are looking good. At one point, when the nurse was sucking some stuff out of his lungs, you could actually see him coughing. The nurse pointed out that they would need to give him more of the medicine to paralyze him because of this. He needs more days like the last couple that he has had.

That is all for now.

Another Update From Lynette

I have talked to Lynette again, and she said that she was waiting to go up to see him until after they did the suction out of the lungs again today. When she called later, she was told that they weren't going to do the procedure because his vitals were standing strong. (His O2 and such are staying strong). This is GREAT news!

She also said that they just can't believe how great he is looking. I can't wait to see him when I go out again.

I am sure Chris will update more when he gets in and sees him.

Talk to you soon
Heather

Tuesday, November 28

I just got an update from my dad. It seems PJ is doing very well. The nurse said he had a slight fever but nothing to be concerned about. They have lowered his oxygen rate to 40. This is the lowest it will go while he is on the ventilator. They have also lowered the respiration rate from 17 to 14 which means he is breathing more on his own. He was inverted in his space ship bed when my dad called. They told him they were going to be looking in his lungs with the camera after he gets flipped back over.

Chris is on his way to San Diego and will be updating when he finds anything out. Keep those prayers coming!

Monday 11/27 update

Saw the PeeeJaaay today. He was out of the spinning bed and out of the darth vader mask. this is the first time I have seen him without all the gauze and tape. He is looking GREAT. I was so excited to see his face...and he looks just like the PJ we all know and love. There does not seem to be a lot of scaring. his eyebrows are starting to grow back, which means we won't have to paint them on later:) His face is still a little puffy, but it is way down from before. I saw his left ear (which is the one most hurt) for the first time as well as that side of his head. It looks good, but the doctors still needs to determine if graphs will be needed. His hands are still wrapped up so I was not able to see those, but word is that he may need some minior work there. No fever, O2 saturation was holding great at 99 and the vent is still turned down to 45, which is really good. He is still on antibiotics for the pneumonia, today they got A LOT of the junk in his lungs that has been causing some of the problems with his pneumonia. So this is a really good thing. The bed he is in has been working and he is probably going to be out of it by weds am. He is still on the rotation of 3 hours on his stomach swinging back and forth and the two hours on his back. So this my friends was a really good day in PJ Land. We need lots more just like it - keep him in your thoughts and prayers - they are working :) - steve

11/26 From Lynette

Hello everyone.

Lynette is a very good friend of PJ's who is out there with him right now. She sent me this email giving the daily update....

Hi Heather,


Just talked to you and here is how Peej is doing:I spent an hour and a half with PJ, he looks good. According to his nurse he is still battling strep, staph and is still somewhat septic but that is par for the course with his injuries.

His temp is down a little bit (but still there) but not concerning at this point.
His O2 assistance is down a little more to 45% that is good news!! His bodily functions are all working normally which is good news too!! We tell him of all the well wishes and thoughts that are sent his way from family and friends. His blood pressure was great while I was there holding steady and 153/70. They said he should be out of his "space ship looking" bed in the next couple days. They say whatever good it was going to do, it will do in the first 5 days and then not be so productive.

Steve will go this afternoon to see him, harass him and tell him to hurry up and get better. I will resume a constant vigil of harassment starting tomorrow!

Have a great day,
Lynette

Sunday, November 26

I just talked to my mom and dad and they have both said that PJ did well last night. His oxygen level has stayed the same. He has a mild fever and they are starting him on another antibiotic today.

Mom said the doctor will be in later to look at some of the tests they have run. She is planning on calling them back and we will post the information when we have it.

Sat 11/25

Just got off the phone with mom and Steve. Pj had a rough night last night. His fever is up again, and his rash is still there. Last night PJ was on 40% oxygen (That is what we are breathing). He is up again on 50%. They think that his right lower lobe of his lung is what is giving him the most problems. They think that is the one that is "clogging up".

They are giving him 6 units of insulin an hour to keep his blood sugar under control. His blood pressure is steady which is good.

I know I am forgetting something, so I will update later. Mom and Dad leave today to come home and Chris is going out Tuesday. His friends Steve and Lynette are going to be there with him for us. I really can't tell you how wonderful his friends are. There are a lot of people out there that care for him, which doesn't surprise me, but it's a great feeling to be part of that love.

Cards, Gifts, Pictures, Thinking Of You

Hey everyone.

Many people want to know where to send cards, etc. to Peej... he has a "board" in his room where we can hang stuff for him. I know that there are pictures and cards from Lauren, Erica, Kalyer and Katelyn up already. If you want to send things out to him, here is the info below.


PJ Meyerpeter
c/o Steve
1313 24th St
San Diego, CA 92102


Steve is PJ's roommate. He will get it to him. Flowers can't be back there, however if you want to send a plant (they did just move into this new apartment you know), Steve will take great care of it for you. Once he is able to put stuff in his room, we will be sure to get it there.

Thank you for all your prayers and support. And keep those comments coming. He will be able to read them as soon as he wakes up, and I am sure he will want to read them.

Talk to you all soon,
Heather

Friday, November 24

I just talked to my mom and she gave me an update. PJ is doing well and his lungs are getting a little better. She said the doctor told her they are sounding better than they have since he has been in the hospital. The have lowered his oxygen down to 40 percent. She explained this as the machine is doing 40 percent of his breathing and he is doing the other 60 percent.

He does still have a fever of 102 degrees, but she said they are not surprised by that. His blood pressure is staying pretty regular.

They did a chest xray this morning and the nurse said it looked good. She said the doctor had not had a chance to look at it yet and she will let me know more after she talks to the doctors again.

November 23

I talked to my mom and dad today and they both said that PJ had a really good night last night. They said the bed is doing exactly what it is supposed to and the stuff in his lungs is starting to break up. My mom said that his blood sugar and blood pressure are both under control and they pulled him off of one of the antibiotics.

I will update more when I hear more. Hope everyone has a good Thanksgiving!

As of today (11/22/2006)

They moved PJ into a special bed that rotates 360 degrees. This is to help loosen up the fluid in his lungs. Hopefully this will help with the pneumonia and his lungs collapsing.

His blood pressure is all over the charts. They would like for it to be more "regular", but they think the reason it keeps going up and down is because he is in pain.

They also have re wrapped his face. They said that the synthetic skin was not working as well as they had hoped.

This is all that I know for right now, and I will post more as it comes.

What Happened?

Here's what we know, the U.S.S. Nimitz was in port. When the ship is in port, they will hook the ship up to power lines from the shore. P.J.'s group was testing a 120 volt line using a "Fluke" branded meter. The meter they were using was designed to test 120 volt sources, with a capacity to support a 500 volt spike. The line however was powered up to 4,160 volts. The meter of course couldn't handle that amount of electricity and exploded. When the meter exploded, the metal casing of the meter was blown into an exposed electrical panel bus bar. That panel was engergized with 4,160 volts. The metal of the case created an un-fused link between the positive and negative bus bars of the panel. This created a plasma ball much like a lightning strike which caused severe heat and fire. PJ was supervising a crew of three other men. This included two other naval personnel and a civilian assigned to work for the Navy.
PJ was standing directly behind the person administering the test.

Saturday, Nov 17

On Saturday, they removed the bandages on his face. They let us come in to see him and I can not tell you how WONDERFUL it was to see that PJ was not burned as bad as we thought he was going to be. His face was still very swollen, however, under the swelling, he looked just like PJ. When we found this out, spirits took off. I don't think he is going to take as long for long term recovery now that we know that his face isn't bad. This was really the HUGE part of this day.

His face will remain uncovered from here on out is what they told us.

Friday Novemeber 16

Ok, many of you know that PJ was in an accident on Thursday, November 16. He is currently in the ICU burn unit in San Diego. He has burns to his face, arms, and hands. They are saying 2ND and 3rd degree burns. He will for sure need skin grafting on his hands and arms, and they don't think he will on his face.

His lungs are very critical. As of today, they have collapsed twice. Each day they go in and suction out mucus, soot, and fluids out of them. He has pneumonia right now. They expected the pneumonia to happen, however, his lungs are not doing what they had hoped.

Mom, Dad, Erin and I went out this weekend. Mom and Dad are still there, and are giving us the updates. We plan on taking turns being out there every week until he no longer needs us.

When we got there on Friday, it was very overwhelming. He face was completely bandaged and all you could see was his eyes and mouth. He had huge blisters on his mouth, and his head was VERY swollen. He is on a ventilator, which is keeping his airway from swelling shut. His arms and hands were also wrapped.

When we talk to him, his blood pressure goes down. It comforts him. They said they he can hear and recognize familiar voices. They have him on pain meds, antibiotics, and sedatives. They are also giving him a paralytic. That's what paralyzes him. They do NOT want him to wake up and take that vent out. They said that is the first thing he would do.

When we got there they told us that is was at our discretion to let friends come back and visit him. However, the more people who are back there, the greater chance for infection. Also, they told us to take into consideration WHO he would want to see him like that. That is one of the first things that they wake up and say... why did you let so and so see me like this?
With that being said, my parents at first didn't want anyone back there except for us. However, after we talked about it, and since hearing us comforted him, we decided to let his best friend come back. That was a very wise decision because Steve got his blood pressure down to a great level.

Later that evening the doctor came and briefed us. She said that this was going to be a VERY bumpy road. For ALL of us, especially PJ. She told us he would be sedated for at least a month. Recovery would be long...

The Navy is keeping someone at the hospital 24 ours a day for updates, and if the family needs anything. Also, the Navy Support Group is bring food, drinks, etc for all the families. PJ had TONS of very good friends there to support not only him, but to help us out also. He surrounds himself with an awesome group of people. I don't think ANY of us will ever know how to repay them for thier kindness and support.