Episodes...

Mom's weekend was pretty good considering how bad Friday was.  She seemed to regain some of her strength and was even able to sit in a chair a few hours each day (although reclining almost as if in bed).  It was good to see her alert and smiling when she saw family and friends visit. 

 

She did have a couple of "episodes".  I don't know what else to call them, but what happens is everything pretty much goes bad.  Her  Blood Pressure gets too high or too low, Oxygen Levels get too low, Heart Rate goes up, Temperature goes up, Pain and Discomfort is evident.  So that's what I mean when I say "episode".  From each one, Saturday morning and Sunday morning, she seemed to recover.  Sunday her oxygen levels didn't bounce back as much as they should have, so they kept a 40% oxygen mask on her.  It made her pretty miserable. 

 

Late yesterday evening the respiratory therapist suctioned her through her nose.  It was pretty traumatic for mom, but it did clear her up enough that she was able to remove the oxygen maks and put back on a smaller nasal canula (the kind that looks like a mustache) and she seemed to be resting well for a short time.  I'm not sure what time it was (last night was somewhat of a blur), but I think about 3am, she started having another "episode".  It was the worst I've seen, and dad said it was like Friday's, but not as bad.  It took about 2 hours to get her settled down.  This time, percocet seemed to work and it didn't knock her out as bad as Friday.  I guess they had given her Ativan on Friday and that was maybe part of the reason she was so unresponsive.

 

I left the hospital at about 7am and she had been resting - what seemed comfortably - for a short time.  She woke up enough to say goodbye to me and nod in acknowledgement when I asked her if she was okay. 

 

I taked to my dad about an hour ago and he said that he spoke to her hospitalist, Dr. Patel and he said that they are going to try to schedule her tracheostomy for today.  This will require transporation to another hospital.  Probably Saint Anthony's, but maybe Swedish.  He is concerned about the swelling in her arm.  Mom's right arm has been swollen pretty much since this all started because of the lack of use.  We try to keep it elevated and move it for her, but it's not the same as daily use.  He mentioned to dad that he has some sort of medication he may give her to treat that - not sure what it was.  If and when it is scheduled, I'll post a quick update.

 

Dr. Lyn-Kew said that this surgery is statistically pretty safe.  Please, please, please keep her in your prayers today and send any good thoughts that it will help her with her breathing issues and allow her to move on in her recovery and rehabilitation.

 

Thank you.

 

xox,

Tommy