Numbers Down

Got good news lately on MIL! Her white cell count is NORMAL! Woohoo! That's really good news. That indicates that the infection is being brought under control. (The infectious colitis).

Her kidney numbers have also improved. I don't know what the numbers are right now, but I know the docs are happy with them. (They were 2.2 a few days ago, so it's below that.) They don't have full kidney function yet, but there is significant improvement on that front.

The fluid that has built up in her body is now coming down. She has lost a lot of weight. The terrible swelling in her hands and arms is nearly gone. And she's gaining movement in her arms and legs! She wasn't able to lift a spoon to her mouth earlier this week, and now she can feed herself. (She doesn't do it enough, but she can do it.)

The doctors want her to EAT. And sleep. She wasn't doing much of either. However, today I heard she ate more than she has all week! Wonderful news! It's not enough for a bird to live on, but it's a great start and we were delighted to hear it.

She slept a lot today too. I'm not sure if that's good or bad. She needs sleep, big time. But the problem is, she's not sleeping at night at all. And in the middle of the night, she gets panic attacks. Bad ones. We're hoping she'll start to get a bit of sleep at night, and maybe get past those panic attacks. That would help.

The c. diff. is still an issue. It's not gone yet. I have no idea how long it takes for that to run it's course or get under control. But I hope it's soon.

And her breathing is still very labored at times. She's getting breathing treatments every so many hours. They help. But it can get bad in between treatments. And she's so weak she can hardly talk. Her voice is a whisper, and breathing and talking seem like too much effort. It really is disconcerting. I want to see this improve, and soon.

She's still in critical condition. And she's still in intensive care. But she is definately showing some signs of improvement, and I hope that soon is across the board. She made a true effort to eat today, and that's wonderful. If she continues to fight back, we could soon see a big turnaround.

But overall, today is FAR better than a few days ago. :)

Bil and nephew left to go back home, at least for now. Sil is still here. Other sil might come down tomorrow, I'm not sure, but it would only be for the day. (Seems like a lot of driving for so little time here.)

Anyway, lots of good news this week. I'm hoping that trend continues...