The Roller Coaster
Yesterday was a good day. Sort of. It was a good reminder AGAIN of the virtues of patience, patient advocacy and a Thermarest.
So, super good news first. Mom was WAY more awake yesterday. She could keep her eyes open for a long time, was trying to talk back to Roland around her ET tube and pursed her lips to kiss him back when he kissed her bye for a bit. She definitely knows Roland and is feeling pain more (good in that she probably wasn't feeling it as much before because the thonk on her head was interfering with processing). Her face is better yet and I was able to sneak a few more pictures so you can see for yourself!
They didn't try and wean her yesterday because she went for her IV C filter. That requires that she get some sedation and they figured about the time it wore off it would be too late in the day for safely weaning. The procedure went well (based on her quick return to 9300) and it is a very good preventative measure. But we did have to go through Informed Consent with a new doctor (as Sievers was tied up at that time). As some of you know, Informed Consent is where you are told that (insert procedure) could cause bruising, tiring or death. It pretty much doesn't matter what the procedure is- haircut, car wash, invasive surgery- there is always a risk of sudden death. Being a doc, I expeccted this and yet it was still traumatic for us all. A reminder that we're not out of the woods until we are.
Yesterday morning was rough in that we have now entered the land of complications. You know the old saw about how being in a hospital will make you sick... Yesterday morning when we went in, Mom's left arm from just above the elbow had swollen up to 3 times its normal size and over double the size it was the day before. The swelling was so severe that the skin was blistering to try and let water out. This is probably the result of a clot in one of the veins in her arm secondary to all the catheters. And she still HAD a catheter in that arm, to make things worse. We had a new nurse, again, and brought up our concerns but she blew it off, saying it was because Mom's hand had been hanging down.
Yeah. Whatever.
As many of you can imagine, knowing me and patient care, that didn't go over well. I was already feeling weepy and tired and overwhelmed (like knowledge, a little sleep is a dangerous thing) and came UNGLUED. It was the first time I have really lost it and, as there is no quiet space at the hospital, it was quite a public affair. Mari, Mom's nurse from the day before, turned up in the midst of everything and asked what was wrong. When I explained, she volunteered to take a look as she knew what Mom had lloked like the day before. The new nurse wasn't happy about this but caved.
Next thing you know, Mari is back to assure us the catheter is coming out, Mom's arm is being elevated, they are getting warm compresses for it and everything will be alright. Mom also got a triple lumen jug cath placed so that they can remoged the other peripherals and let her other arm rest (it is starting to swell too). They took chest Xrays to confirm catheter placement and evaluate her lungs but we don't know those results yet. Once she knew us, the new nurse Daniella warmed up quite a bit and really allowed us to hang with Mom. This was positive in a trillion ways of course, but it also meant that I got to meet one of the orthopedists and got an update from Dr. Brown as well. The orthopedists are raring to go to fix the ankle, merely waiting for an all clear from neurosurgery. They don't even need or necessarily want to wait till Mom is extubated. But they also can wait another week or two if necessary. As it is an intraarticular fracture, my suspicion is that that would increase her long-term arthritis but who knows.
Dr. Doucet gave us a little update and, more importantly, Dr. Sievers came out while I was still quite distressed. This led to me expounding on all the strains of new nurses every shift and new rules with the front every day and on and on. Which led to a distressed Dr. Sievers (it is very painful to watch me be upset I think...) which led to hugs and two bonus visits with Sievers during the day.
In other news, two more packages came- a wonderful teddy named Tucker that I have borrowed from Mom so I something to squeeze out the fear into at night, and a great kit from Cafe du Monde. If Mom isn't careful, we may break into the coffee for her! We also received a whole slew of cards for Mom and a great sign for her room with some morale money. We read all the cards to Mom and taped them to one of her walls (all the walls are glass) and put the sign up on another wall.
Today we get to hang the map and stickerize it... We are going to have to get a second world map as there are too many countries praying for Mom to cut out! Speaking of which, we are up to 42 states and 16 countries. The states we are officially missing are: Wyoming, North Dakota, Idaho, Delaware, Nevada, West Virginia, Alaska and Montana.
Well, almost done but thought you would like a fun story.
To get into 9300, you press this intercom button and wait while they look at you on a camera and decide whether to open the doors. As they are not always at the desk, sometimes you wait A LOT for the door to open. We have become very good at catching the door and waiting INSIDE while someone gets up to take your place so that they can get in. But, especially early on, we weren't this wise and spent a lot of time staring at the doors, wondering if someone was there. Roland got bored one day and started dancing a little jig for the camera. When they let him in, they said it wouldn't have taken so long but they liked the dancing... All in all, good peoples.
Well, it is past time to go but I got more sleep last night so hopefully I will be able to post again tonight. Keep the cards and letters coming. They are good for us all.
When I get back, I will try and tell you all about the moose with the hat.
With love and hope-
jacqui
So, super good news first. Mom was WAY more awake yesterday. She could keep her eyes open for a long time, was trying to talk back to Roland around her ET tube and pursed her lips to kiss him back when he kissed her bye for a bit. She definitely knows Roland and is feeling pain more (good in that she probably wasn't feeling it as much before because the thonk on her head was interfering with processing). Her face is better yet and I was able to sneak a few more pictures so you can see for yourself!
They didn't try and wean her yesterday because she went for her IV C filter. That requires that she get some sedation and they figured about the time it wore off it would be too late in the day for safely weaning. The procedure went well (based on her quick return to 9300) and it is a very good preventative measure. But we did have to go through Informed Consent with a new doctor (as Sievers was tied up at that time). As some of you know, Informed Consent is where you are told that (insert procedure) could cause bruising, tiring or death. It pretty much doesn't matter what the procedure is- haircut, car wash, invasive surgery- there is always a risk of sudden death. Being a doc, I expeccted this and yet it was still traumatic for us all. A reminder that we're not out of the woods until we are.
Yesterday morning was rough in that we have now entered the land of complications. You know the old saw about how being in a hospital will make you sick... Yesterday morning when we went in, Mom's left arm from just above the elbow had swollen up to 3 times its normal size and over double the size it was the day before. The swelling was so severe that the skin was blistering to try and let water out. This is probably the result of a clot in one of the veins in her arm secondary to all the catheters. And she still HAD a catheter in that arm, to make things worse. We had a new nurse, again, and brought up our concerns but she blew it off, saying it was because Mom's hand had been hanging down.
Yeah. Whatever.
As many of you can imagine, knowing me and patient care, that didn't go over well. I was already feeling weepy and tired and overwhelmed (like knowledge, a little sleep is a dangerous thing) and came UNGLUED. It was the first time I have really lost it and, as there is no quiet space at the hospital, it was quite a public affair. Mari, Mom's nurse from the day before, turned up in the midst of everything and asked what was wrong. When I explained, she volunteered to take a look as she knew what Mom had lloked like the day before. The new nurse wasn't happy about this but caved.
Next thing you know, Mari is back to assure us the catheter is coming out, Mom's arm is being elevated, they are getting warm compresses for it and everything will be alright. Mom also got a triple lumen jug cath placed so that they can remoged the other peripherals and let her other arm rest (it is starting to swell too). They took chest Xrays to confirm catheter placement and evaluate her lungs but we don't know those results yet. Once she knew us, the new nurse Daniella warmed up quite a bit and really allowed us to hang with Mom. This was positive in a trillion ways of course, but it also meant that I got to meet one of the orthopedists and got an update from Dr. Brown as well. The orthopedists are raring to go to fix the ankle, merely waiting for an all clear from neurosurgery. They don't even need or necessarily want to wait till Mom is extubated. But they also can wait another week or two if necessary. As it is an intraarticular fracture, my suspicion is that that would increase her long-term arthritis but who knows.
Dr. Doucet gave us a little update and, more importantly, Dr. Sievers came out while I was still quite distressed. This led to me expounding on all the strains of new nurses every shift and new rules with the front every day and on and on. Which led to a distressed Dr. Sievers (it is very painful to watch me be upset I think...) which led to hugs and two bonus visits with Sievers during the day.
In other news, two more packages came- a wonderful teddy named Tucker that I have borrowed from Mom so I something to squeeze out the fear into at night, and a great kit from Cafe du Monde. If Mom isn't careful, we may break into the coffee for her! We also received a whole slew of cards for Mom and a great sign for her room with some morale money. We read all the cards to Mom and taped them to one of her walls (all the walls are glass) and put the sign up on another wall.
Today we get to hang the map and stickerize it... We are going to have to get a second world map as there are too many countries praying for Mom to cut out! Speaking of which, we are up to 42 states and 16 countries. The states we are officially missing are: Wyoming, North Dakota, Idaho, Delaware, Nevada, West Virginia, Alaska and Montana.
Well, almost done but thought you would like a fun story.
To get into 9300, you press this intercom button and wait while they look at you on a camera and decide whether to open the doors. As they are not always at the desk, sometimes you wait A LOT for the door to open. We have become very good at catching the door and waiting INSIDE while someone gets up to take your place so that they can get in. But, especially early on, we weren't this wise and spent a lot of time staring at the doors, wondering if someone was there. Roland got bored one day and started dancing a little jig for the camera. When they let him in, they said it wouldn't have taken so long but they liked the dancing... All in all, good peoples.
Well, it is past time to go but I got more sleep last night so hopefully I will be able to post again tonight. Keep the cards and letters coming. They are good for us all.
When I get back, I will try and tell you all about the moose with the hat.
With love and hope-
jacqui
posted by Jacqui at 9:17 AM
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