Day 22 in ICU I got to the hospital about 9:00 am, and have positive news to report. Cara had a good night, they have cut way back on her blood pressure medicine, and it is staying up pretty well. Currently her BP is 98/37. And they have been able to reduce her sedation medicine a lot too. She has been much less agitated, resting pretty nicely right now, very calm. The improvement in blood pressure means there is a good chance she can have the tracheotomy surgery tomorrow morning. If her improvement comes in baby steps, well take it. And now the not so good news. The kidney doctor says her kidney function is no better and they will start her on slow dialysis soon today. Kidney function is tied together with everything else, and if other things improve, the kidneys can make a comeback as well. The pulmonary doctor was here about 10:30 this morning and said tomorrows trach is a go for now. He said it will help make her more comfortable in several ways and will allow them to get Cara up and move around a bit and into a recliner. I asked if it might help her kidney function, and he said most likely not. That is a separate issue. Two friends from our church came for a visit today [Lory Rieger and Nancy Rendell], and we had lunch in the hospital cafeteria. It was great seeing and talking with them. I thank them for their love and prayers. And I dont know how they knew I needed to gain a little weight, but somehow word must have gotten too them - they brought cookies and candy. I just wish I could share them with Cara. Its almost 3:00 now and Caras blood pressure is down some, 88/33, but the nurse said she has a lot more room to up her BP medicine now when she needs to compared to yesterday. The slow dialysis was started about 15 minutes ago. I just met with an anesthesiology doctor and signed off on the trach surgery for tomorrow morning. I had already signed off for the surgery, but I had to sign off on giving her anesthesia. Now I ask you, who would not sign granting permission to give their loved one anesthesia for surgery? You talk about cruel and unusual punishment. Tomorrow will be Caras 3rd surgery since being here - heart bypass, pacemaker and now tracheotomy. And that doesnt count opening her back up after heart surgery to treat/stop the bleeding. Poor little thing. Its 3:30 and Cara is more awake now than anytime during the day. Her eyes are open and she can see me, but her breathing is a little labored and I dont know if she really knows Im here. The nurse told me she has given her no sedation med today, so thats a good thing. Dr Prabaka was just in here, and I asked him if Cara is making any progress and he said slow. He said getting the trach done tomorrow will help a lot. So thats it for today. Its moving towards 4:30. Ill send this now. Once again, I ask for prayers for Cara, and a special one that the trach surgery will go well tomorrow and will help make things more comfortable for her. Thank you very much, Jim
Posted on: Thu, 17 Oct 2013 21:22:06 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015