Wed. March 12th

Colton has remained very unstable since they started using the new ventilator. Dr. decided to put him back on other ventilator to get everything back to where it was before. Hoping that the steroids will start to reduce swelling in lungs.

Photo taken from Family picture taken 2 years ago.

Original post edited to add: Colton passed away shortly after this blog was posted on March 12th. The whole family was there at his passing, and gathered at his bedside. We stayed with him for hours. All of his friends started gathering in the hallway of the ICU, and Coltons parents allowed them in to say goodbye to him. As the extended family gathered, a family prayer was offered. It was given by Coltons Great Uncle Sherel Hill. It was a very peaceful and special moment. We were all given strength, and comfort to make it through the next days ahead.

Vent Troubles

March 11th. Started using the new vent, also started administering steroids. X-rays show improvement in lungs, but blood pressure meds have had to be doubled. He has started ballooning full of Carbon Dioxide, and his kidneys are starting to fail again. Dr. has decided to stay by Coltons bed overnight.

Colton and his friend Alex...and Grandma & Grandpa...at Deer Valley 2007

New Ventilator from Florida

On March 10th they flew an Oscillating Ventilator in from Florida. It is hoped that this will help his lungs as they are not making much progress.

Birthday party for Zack, Coltons oldest brother, at the hospital.

Pictures of Zack and Cole on Christmas Eve 2007

Thursday, Friday, Saturday

This is a picture of Colton after the swelling had gone down about half way.

The rest of the week was pretty uneventful. Colton was making slight improvements, and having slight setbacks. Nothing was ever completely stable.

A family fast was scheduled for Sunday, March 9th.

Wed. March 5th

For the first night, since entering the ICU, Colton stayed stable all night. Throughout Wed. morning his numbers all looked really good. Around noon he started needing 100% oxygen again.
His Dr. came in at 1:00 to check on him, and by 1:40 Coltons situation was desperate. He had a neumothorax that caused his chest to fill up with air. It crowded his heart, and it could no longer beat. They did chest compressions, released the air around the heart with a needle, and then put in a chest tube. As soon as the chest tube was in place infection started pouring out.

Colton's family was told to call everyone together because he wasn't going to make it much longer. By the time they all got to the hospital Colton was stable, and doing better than he had in days.

The Doctors said that it was lucky that he had a neumothorax, or they may not have discovered the infection in the lining of his lungs. It had not shown up on the Cat scan. They ended up putting a chest tube in on the other side too.

Colton was so puffed up with air, and fluids that he was unrecognizable. We didn't take any pictures for a few days.

Tuesday, May 4th

This is a picture of Colton with 40 lbs. of extra fluids in him.

Tuesday was a good day. Things looked like they might be leveling off a bit.

Sunday Night-Monday Night

Sunday night, shocked by the news of Coltons hospitalization, the family gathered in the ICU waiting room. We quickly learned how serious the situation was when they started discussing mortality rates. Colton's Dad called together the men of the family to give Cole a priesthood blessing.

It was an awesome experience to be in the room as this group of men put their hands on his head to give him a blessing. We were blessed with peace that through our Faith everything would be alright.

It wasn't until the next morning that we found out what a terrible night Colton had. His blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen saturations had all been very unstable. He was lucky to still be alive.

Colton started to look puffy. He was being pumped full fluids. There were IV's everywhere! During the day Monday he started to stabilize....a tiny bit.

It all started...

Colton started getting sick Sunday, Feb. 24. It appeared to be a bad case of the Stomach Flu.

His parents took him to the Emergency Room Wed. night, Feb. 27th. He was dehydrated so he was given some IV fluids then sent home.

He still wasn't getting any better. By friday evening he was starting to have some trouble breathing. Thinking that it might be pneumonia, Colton was taken to see a Doctor, at Urgent Care, on Saturday March 1st. The Dr. said that it was probably asthma that was causing his lungs to be sore, and that he just needed to use an inhaler.....he'd be fine by Monday.

Sunday, March 2nd, he could barely breathe. His heart was racing, and he was weak. He was taken to the Emergency Room again. The same doctor that had been there on Wed. was there again, and immediatly started to care for him. It didn't take long to realize that he was in desperate trouble. They sedated, and intubated him in the Emergency Room before taking him to the ICU.