July 22

 Today makes exactly two months since Brian was transferred to the Kaiser hospital in Santa Clara to begin treatment with an ECMO machine. At that time, he required assistance breathing with a ventilator due to the damage his lungs suffered after contracting the COVID 19 virus in early May.  The ECMO machine's purpose was to give extra assistance to Brian's lungs and ventilator, thus buying him time for his lungs to recover. Since transferring to Santa Clara, Brian has faced challenges we just never anticipated. Most damaging was the blood clot that affected the right side of his heart. Once Brian's heart was damaged, his kidneys and liver began to deteriorate. To try and strengthen his heart, Brian was put on a second ECMO machine to provide extra assistance to his heart while it recovered. Brian's kidneys have been given extra assistance with continuous dialysis. Other challenges have complicated Brian's treatment. His digestive system has struggled to process nutrition provided by a feeding tube. To provide nutrients and sustain him calorically, the feeding tube was removed and IV nutrition has been administered. 

Brian has had some successes since the blood clot on his heart. With the assistance of medication, his heart was strong enough to have the second ECMO machine for his heart removed. A few days ago, Brian was able to open his eyes to let us know that he has cognitive understanding. 

Unfortunately, Brian's condition is deteriorating. The medication that is required for Brian's heart to circulate blood properly through his body is not efficient. The nutrition that Brian is receiving through an IV is not providing enough caloric intake - even though they are overfeeding him, his body is requiring more than he can receive. (We were quite surprised tonight by how much he has thinned down in just five days since we last saw him.) 

Earlier today, a conference call was scheduled so that Brian's attending physician could speak to Brian's mother, father, his brother who is a physician, and me. They explained that Brian is getting weaker. He cannot survive without a lung transplant and with four damaged organs, he will not qualify for one. They have exhausted every resource available to change his prognosis. At this point, the many doctors and specialists treating him have come to the conclusion that the best option for Brian is to keep him comfortable and no longer attempt to resuscitate him as his heart weakens. We are struggling to process the reality of losing him. We are heartbroken.