Day by Day….
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Day by Day….
Hello Taverneers, I’ve been caught up in a bit of a maelstrom. Saturday night 11/11, late, I got a call from the hospital telling me that Trish, having been largely unconscious for three days (which we could get no answers as to why) was being transferred back to the ICU, with, quite dangerously, not enough oxygen getting to her brain. Sunday 11/12, found her sedated, with a breathing tube inserted, and the threat of having a tracheostomy and full on ventilator…and a prompting to call in the family to make potential final preparations. (Note: outside, objective and impartial Neurological consultation confirmed that reading her chart told them that she was in a state that she would have probably died overnight had she not have had the breathing tube inserted.) Monday, 11/13, and Trish is still in the ICU with the breathing tube. Trish had a quiet night. They have removed sedation. Her eyes were about half way open when I got back to the ICU, I asked her to blink at me if she knew who I was. She blinked. She’s not responding to verbal commands yet, but moved her foot to get it away from me when I tickled it. Her nurse said she still responds to pain, like when they pinch her. According to her doctor if she responds to pain, there’s brain activity going on. Maybe I’m by myself here (amongst some hospital personnel), but I take that as a positive sign, not to give up on. Respiratory came in this AM and turned Trish’s ventilator way down. Trish breathed mostly on her own with minimal assistance. The lady says it’s her goal to get Trish off the machine all together. They won’t just leave the machine turned off continuously, but they will continue these exercises for 30 minutes every morning or as doctors order. The doctors did take Trish off of the breathing tube again for 30 min this afternoon, and she again, held her own. One more enlightened doctor wants to wean her off the ventilator all together as well if she continues showing signs of breathing on her own. She woke up several times today, but was pretty groggy. I read the Bible, and also Sherlock Holmes (she likes mysteries) to Trish and she kept her eyes open for that time. They took her for a very specific CT scan to measure the hole in her skull for the replacement bone. I took that as why would they go to that trouble and expense if there was no future hope? Her lead Dr. said that the big ticket item right now was getting the exact amount of brain fluid off through the drain in her spine. Apparently it’s not an exact science, but her recent decline very well could have been because too much fluid was removed. Since they are dialing it in more accurately, she seems a little better. The tracheostomy is still on the table, but if her breathing stabilizes, and she’s breathing on her own, then they may, like I said, take her off the ventilator altogether. They’ll decide perhaps middle of the week. Continued many many thanks for your prayers and loving support.
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This discussion was modified 1 year, 6 months ago by
Dana Acker.
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This discussion was modified 1 year, 6 months ago by
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