Last night my company had an open house for Halloween. They invited everybody to bring their kids to trick or treat at the office. I didn't know what to expect, since they had never done this before, but I was definately going to at least stop in for a little while. Poor ds has spent so much time sitting in hospital waiting rooms, that he really needed some kid-time.
I'm so glad I went. I was surprised about the decorations. My boss hinted that she was going to get lots of stuff to make our department look cool. It was great. Spider webs, a huge spider, rubber rats, you name it. Very festive. All the other departments did the same. It was pretty neat.
Dh couldn't make it. That was the only chance he'd have to see his mom in the hospital, and we couldn't all be no-shows. So I suggested he just drop ds off with me at 5:00, and I'd bring him by the hospital when we were done. I figured even if it was during the 2 hour no-visitation time, they would likely make an exception for ds to just go to the window and wave at Grandma in his costume.
Anyway, they not only decorated at work, and had candy of course, but they also had a feast of goodies! Sandwiches, fruit cabobs, chips, veggie trays with dip, and a Chocolate Fountain, complete with marshmallows, pretzels, angle food chunks, nilla wafers, rice krispy treats, etc that we could dunk in the flowing chocolate! Ds was thrilled. They had games for the kids, crafts, coloring, all kinds of stuff. And the real topper was that he found someone from his school. He had such a blast. It was great to see. I was so happy for him, I was teary.
We never did make it to the hospital last night. MIL was so worn out that she was asleep, and they didn't want to disturb her. I figured we could always go there during the actual Halloween instead.
Ds has been so happy, and so good. He finished his major project for school. He had the presentation this morning. All finished on time, in spite the fact we were never home, and he had to do the whole thing on the fly between hospital vigils. I promised him a Bakugan (translation for non-parents: a modern day Transformers-type toy) if he worked hard on his project and turned it in on time. No problem! Even though we did kind of put it off for a while, it was still finished with lots of time to spare. I had a doctor appointment myself this morning, with my orthopedic specialist, so I was going in to work a little late. I told ds I would drive him to school. He was happy about that. No rushing, no pressure. It was a nice and mellow morning.
His presentation went well. He lost part of his costume along the way, but no problem. It's HOT today! And for the record: DH TURNED ON THE AIR CONDITIONER!! ON HALLOWEEN!!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Venting
Seems like every time we start to see light at the end of the tunnel, something else happens to just blow us right out of the water.
Dh got a phonecall from the hospital today. They put MIL on a ventilator. Her oxygen levels were dropping way too low while she slept. They didn't know why, and were sending her down for an ultrasound and CT scan, and possibly other tests. They were going to sedate her and restrain her, to get the tubes into her to ventilate her, but they decided they couldn't sedate her due to the tests that they want to run. I hear as soon as they got her on the ventilator, she fell asleep. They believe it was because she was finally breathing well, and comfortable, so she finally COULD sleep.
Come to find out, the big problem is that she wasn't expelling CO2.
Dh is all freaked out. Me too, to be honest. He just went back to the hospital. The unknown is scary. They are waiting to see what her oxygen levels are. From what I understand, if her CO2 issue doesn't resolve on the ventilator, then it could be neurological...? That doesn't sound good.
I haven't spoken to any of the medical people. Dh is off to try to find out more. No one seems to really know for sure what is going on or why, and the test results are not back in yet.
Geez, I really thought things were finally turning a corner. When will this roller coaster ride level out some?
Dh got a phonecall from the hospital today. They put MIL on a ventilator. Her oxygen levels were dropping way too low while she slept. They didn't know why, and were sending her down for an ultrasound and CT scan, and possibly other tests. They were going to sedate her and restrain her, to get the tubes into her to ventilate her, but they decided they couldn't sedate her due to the tests that they want to run. I hear as soon as they got her on the ventilator, she fell asleep. They believe it was because she was finally breathing well, and comfortable, so she finally COULD sleep.
Come to find out, the big problem is that she wasn't expelling CO2.
Dh is all freaked out. Me too, to be honest. He just went back to the hospital. The unknown is scary. They are waiting to see what her oxygen levels are. From what I understand, if her CO2 issue doesn't resolve on the ventilator, then it could be neurological...? That doesn't sound good.
I haven't spoken to any of the medical people. Dh is off to try to find out more. No one seems to really know for sure what is going on or why, and the test results are not back in yet.
Geez, I really thought things were finally turning a corner. When will this roller coaster ride level out some?
Good News!
Mil has been doing better! Her vitals are good, all the numbers are where they are supposed to be. Kidney function seems to be reasonably good, good enough to take her off dialysis. They're removing the dialysis port. Blood sugar good. She's moving more, showing more strength. Coughing a lot, which is exhausting, but getting out the bad stuff, which is good.
Still having trouble breathing. Doc says it's because of the colitis, that it's pushing everything upward and pressuring her lungs. He says it's just time on that one. Same goes for her talking.
They're talking about pumping food directly into her stomach. Real food, not the IV. They want to get her stomach working. They say this will kick start her appetite. Oh, I hope so. She's not eating at all.
They had her stand up today!! That's the first time in at least three weeks. Excellent news! Of course, it was only a moment, but gotta start somewhere.
Her spirits are a little dampened. She's frustrated. But she's not giving up! That's the best thing. As long as she's hanging tough, the better her chances.
Still not out of the woods yet. (Geez, I'm tired of this neck of the woods! I can only imagine how tired she must be of it.) Still in critical condition, still in intensive care. But we're getting a glimpse of daylight ahead.
Still having trouble breathing. Doc says it's because of the colitis, that it's pushing everything upward and pressuring her lungs. He says it's just time on that one. Same goes for her talking.
They're talking about pumping food directly into her stomach. Real food, not the IV. They want to get her stomach working. They say this will kick start her appetite. Oh, I hope so. She's not eating at all.
They had her stand up today!! That's the first time in at least three weeks. Excellent news! Of course, it was only a moment, but gotta start somewhere.
Her spirits are a little dampened. She's frustrated. But she's not giving up! That's the best thing. As long as she's hanging tough, the better her chances.
Still not out of the woods yet. (Geez, I'm tired of this neck of the woods! I can only imagine how tired she must be of it.) Still in critical condition, still in intensive care. But we're getting a glimpse of daylight ahead.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Fading Away
I got a heartbreaking phonecall today. Dh called me at work, and told me "they don't think she's going to make it."
I've spent all day at the hospital. We're all devastated. The nurses say they've seen this before. She's just fading away.
Her numbers are okay. Her white cell count has returned to normal. Her kidneys seem to be functioning okay - the number isn't below one like they'd prefer, but it's still well lower than it was, still below two, and seems to be functioning reasonably well. Blood pressure is good. Blood sugar is good.
But she's worse. Much worse. She's not really moving at all anymore. Her coloring is bad. Her voice wouldn't qualify as a whisper. Her breathing is very labored. They may put her on a respirator.
The doctors say she is just so weak from fighting the infection. Like her body is just giving up. She seems to be emotionally giving up, too. She asked me to get her youngest son back here. (He had gone back home, when we thought she was improving.)
BIL is on his way. So is nephew. Maybe more. They'll arrive in the middle of the night.
I'm reminded of other phone calls, long ago. Similar telephone conversations. The voiceless patient in the bed. The sterile equipment and people of the ICU unit. The helplessness. The same prayers. The same pain.
Part of me believes that she would make it if she would just have that will. At the moment, she doesn't have it. Will she get it back, before it's too late?
I've spent all day at the hospital. We're all devastated. The nurses say they've seen this before. She's just fading away.
Her numbers are okay. Her white cell count has returned to normal. Her kidneys seem to be functioning okay - the number isn't below one like they'd prefer, but it's still well lower than it was, still below two, and seems to be functioning reasonably well. Blood pressure is good. Blood sugar is good.
But she's worse. Much worse. She's not really moving at all anymore. Her coloring is bad. Her voice wouldn't qualify as a whisper. Her breathing is very labored. They may put her on a respirator.
The doctors say she is just so weak from fighting the infection. Like her body is just giving up. She seems to be emotionally giving up, too. She asked me to get her youngest son back here. (He had gone back home, when we thought she was improving.)
BIL is on his way. So is nephew. Maybe more. They'll arrive in the middle of the night.
I'm reminded of other phone calls, long ago. Similar telephone conversations. The voiceless patient in the bed. The sterile equipment and people of the ICU unit. The helplessness. The same prayers. The same pain.
Part of me believes that she would make it if she would just have that will. At the moment, she doesn't have it. Will she get it back, before it's too late?
Sunday, October 26, 2008
A Downturn
The news today was not so great. MIL's white cell count has continued to drop. Now it is BELOW normal. That's not good either. It could be because of the dialysis.
Her breathing is still quite labored. A resperator is still not out of the question. This too could be because of the dialysis.
She's not eating much. While she seemed to have a better night, and dh stayed all night without any calls into her room after about 2am, she was struggling this morning. Another panic attack, probably brought on by her breathing troubles.
She's not eating well today. Says she's not hungry. She's so tired, they aren't even going to attempt to put her into a chair today. (They've been very insistant about it in the past.)
I'm hoping the day turns around some.
Her breathing is still quite labored. A resperator is still not out of the question. This too could be because of the dialysis.
She's not eating much. While she seemed to have a better night, and dh stayed all night without any calls into her room after about 2am, she was struggling this morning. Another panic attack, probably brought on by her breathing troubles.
She's not eating well today. Says she's not hungry. She's so tired, they aren't even going to attempt to put her into a chair today. (They've been very insistant about it in the past.)
I'm hoping the day turns around some.
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