The Comeback Kid!

 Just  in case you didn't know, Dorian A. Johnson is a stud. Yesterday afternoon he became very lethargic and unresponsive to our voices into the evening. Mid afternoon Ben and Alex came to hang out and chat with Dori and give him lots of kisses, then they left to do some back to school shopping with Chris. 

We had heard his Carbon Dioxide levels were very high but it wasn't until Chris left to spend some time with the boys did we get the news that his CO2 was through the roof. His last labs had shown that his levels were so high that they weren't even within the measurable range. In as calm and kind way as possible they told us that with that much CO2 in his body he probably wouldn't be able to make it through the night due to the high toxicity levels. 

I put the sos call to Chris and he dropped off the boys at Mike & Stephanie's house and came back to be with us as quickly as possible. During that time the staff was able to run more blood gas labs and with just a couple of hours Dorian's levels had slipped down to "within measurable levels".  At that point he was a little more alert and was saying repeatedly under his muffled mask "hungry! Turkey! Turkey! Turkey!!" over and over again.  Then by 2AM this morning his co2 levels were checked and again his levels had slipped down even lower! That was huge relief to us, because we weren't emotionally ready to have one last night with our big guy. 

Since then he has taken two breaks to eat his beloved turkey and yogurt with the help of lots of oxygen switching and people standing around helping us. He has perked up listening to Chris's music this morning and was bopping his head to the beat and drumming his tummy with his hands. He isn't as irritable and keeps telling us (and any medical staff that comes into the room) "I love you!" He's even been laughing and calling out for Wynnie a couple of times which has been so sweet.  

We've had very direct and honest discussions with all the staff who we trust and know well, and it is clear that Dori does not have years nor even months left. His heart has deteriorated to the point where it's increasingly hard for his body to work.  Everything that is happening right now is very reminiscent to how Wynnie was a few weeks before he assed. We'll continue to give Dori as much love, laughter, turkey and music that he can handle. He is happy and we'll stay on course to enjoy him every single minute we can. Thanks for your continued prayers for our comeback kid!! Here he is tapping his belly to some UB40 jams.