From TC

Hi everyone,

It's been a long 72hrs and an even longer 2 or 3 hrs. As you know
Ben's been in Intensive Care for the last three days. His temperatures
have been up and down and his breathing has been very disturbed and
rapid. It wouldn't be inaccurate to say that he's been fighting for
his life.

He's been getting chest X-rays once or twice a day to check his lungs
for fluid. At seven tonight he had another X-ray which revealed high
levels of fluid on his lungs and he had become severly agitated just
before that, breathing 60 times a minute (15-20 or so is normal) and
perspiring a lot. At this point the staff decided that he had to be
intubated urgently. So he had five nurses and a doctor around him all
moving quite fast, organising the procedure.

This wasn't a "hey how about we put a tube down him so he's more at
peace?" It was a, "this is urgent, if we don't get his breathing
sorted out very soon he's going to be in serious trouble". This is
Intensive Care we're talking about: you only work quickly if it's
serious.

The procedure went well and Ben's now breathing more peacefully on a
ventilator but he is in an induced coma and will be asleep for around
a week the medics think. His condition is very severe and he is no
doubt fighting for his life. He's shown a lot of bravery and no
bitterness but is still in a serious condition. Keep praying and
fighting with him.