There was not a lot of progress in Granny's condition today, but there was some and no worsening. There were no "episodes" last night. A lot of the fluid has been removed from the lung, the xrays are looking much better and the chest sounds clear (according to the primary care doctor). They have not been successful in removing the ventilator--when they try, Granny has trouble breathing. So, they have been trying to "ween" her very slowly off of it....was 100% Monday morning, then that evening went to 60%, 40% this morning and 35% oxygen when I left this evening [meaning they were giving her that percentage to maintain her oxygen levels]. They want her to maintain as close to 99% oxygen levels on her own before they take it away. I was told by the respiratory technician that they had to go slow and careful with Granny on this. The ventilator is not breathing for her entirely, but it is helping her to breathe easier.
Granny was obviously very tired today and not as lucid (communicative) as she was yesterday, however, she is responding with head nods and hand squeezes and toe wiggles, so she is aware of things. She is being fed by a feeding tube as of this evening. And her blood pressure has been relatively stable. Although I did not see the pulmonary or cardiologist (despite being there from 7:30am to 5pm--growl), the heart cath is still planned for Friday.
Keep Granny in your prayers!
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