Mom stayed sedated through the night yesterday evening and mostly comfortable. There was a point that her blood pressure got low enough that Dr. Solomon was called and ordered a fluid bolus to counteract. It didn't take long until it worked and mom's blood pressure readings came back to normal.
This morning Dr. Soloman came in and told us that mom's sputum lab came back positive for a kind of "super bug" infection. From what I understand, the strain of pneumonia that mom got at Swedish hospital was very resistant to antibiotics. The exception was the one that they chose to treat her with (Zosyn). Eventually, the Zosyn stopped being effective and was discontinued. The lab tests done on this new bug, are showing resistance to all other types of antibiotics that might be available. They are going to try to treat it with Amikacin (a previously used antibiotic), but aren't very confident it will work.
He also thought mom was dehydrated and ordered a fluid drip. By this evening, her lungs were sounding very "junkie" and the respiratory treatment did not seem to be doing the trick. Joseph, her nurse, called Dr. Solomonn and explained the symptons and her input/output stats. He ordered Lasix to help with removal of the extra fluids. She seems to be breathing better in the 3-4 hours since it was administered.
On a very much harder to write note, my brothers and sisters and I talked to my dad about mom's state and about her future care. We all agree that we have done everything we can to give mom a chance to come back to us and we believe that it has come to the time to let her go as peacefully as she possibly can. My mom, true to her spirit, has fought hard and allowed us some precious moments since this journey started back on January 1st. We were blessed to have her back for a short time to "talk" with us (ya ya ya), laugh with us, see joy in her face as she looked upon us, and even care for us, as she fought. I know that I will always cherish those moments.
Friends and family, if you haven't had a chance to say your goodbyes and you would like the opportunity, please stop by Colorado Acute anytime tomorrow (Monday, February 21st).
We - my brothers, my sisters, my dad, and my nieces and my nephews - would like to take some time to share the day privately with my mom as we place her in "Comfort Care" on Tuesday. (Comfort Care is like Hospice Care, except it will continue here at Colorado Acute Hospital instead of transfering her to another location.) The doctors are unable to tell us how long mom will stay with us once this transition has begun.
It doesn't matter how much we know that this is the right thing to do, it's the hardest thing ever. My heart aches more than mere words could ever convey...
We do thank you, for all of your thoughts and prayers...
xox,
Tommy
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