That was the worst case scenario we were presented with and I have to say I had prepared myself for that. I was at the point that anything would be better than what he was going through. Thank goodness the pacemaker worked.
I hope you SIL gets the treatment he needs and his condition improves. The strange thing about this condition is that it can right itself all on its own, but only temporarily and for varying lengths of time. My DH wasn't offered the biotic until he had been ill for 12 months during the first episode, so we don't really know whether the improvement came about from the treatment or not. He got another shot of biotic during the second episode and it made little difference.