A good thing!

One thing I forgot to mention, is that Jack's x-rays are clearing up quite nicely! The ARDS seems to be on the retreat! As important information as this is, it can get buried behind the fact that we still have so many hills to climb before he is better.

ARDS is short for Adult (or Acute) Respiratory Distress Syndrome. It is not a disease in itself but instead is a result of another illness. I am surprised by how easy it is to get but how few people get it. I have read stories of people who go into the hospital for a fairly easy operation and end up there for months because they developed ARDS. I read stories about 16 year-olds who develop it from pneumonia to people who have been in major car accidents and develop it in the hospital. They have little idea why some people get it and others don't or why some people get better quicker than others. It seems that sepsis and pneumonia can commonly lead to ARDS. Jack had them both.

The doctor described it as leaky lungs- basically your lungs can't hold in the oxygen you need to sustain your organs. There is no medicine or magic in getting better. Venting someone and rest and the medically induced coma seem to be the best medicines. Recently the survival rate is 60 percent, before that it was 20-30 percent.

We cautiously hope that Jack has gotten past the major hurdles in surviving ARDS. This comes as a crisis. That's one of the hard parts.