Finally some progress to report! This morning was pretty miserable--Granny was still struggling with the ventilator, although she was breathing on her own. Gagging, and wanting to cough with the tube down her throat, the soreness & dryness, unable to talk... We were waiting for a procedure in which they would "go in" with a big needle/syringe (I guess) and remove as much fluid from the lung as possible. When we were kicked out at 10am for "quiet time" in the ICU, the pulmonary doctor apparently decided to remove the ventilator--YEA!!!! At 11am, the nurse found us in the waiting room to let us know and allowed us to see her briefly after that ordeal. She was in bed, but smiled and waved at us immediately. Then, when we got back at noon after going for a bite to eat in the cafeteria, we found her sitting in a chair and she smiled at us right away! YEA!! She still had the feeding tube which goes from the nose to the stomach, but it was quite obvious she had really improved after that ventilator was removed.
She told us she had even walked down the hallway a bit! For the next two hours she sat up in the chair and we hung out. She dozed off a few times in the chair and by the time we were kicked out for another "quiet time", she was saying she wanted to lay down in bed because she was very tired. We also got a visit from the cardiologist during this time and he was very impressed with her progress in such a short period. She still had to do the fluid removal procedure which the doctor found out was scheduled for 3pm, but he said if she did well with that and it did not appear to be an infection, and if all went well over night and tomorrow morning, that we may go ahead with the heart cath to test what we needed to do for the heart. Haven't heard yet if she still has an infection, but when we got to go back in at 4pm after this last procedure, she was looking fine and ready to go home!
See how happy she looks? Her feeding tube had been removed and she said she could breathe better after the fluid was off (although it was a rough procedure). She was given the "clear liquid" diet for supper and she scarfed it down! Beef broth, grape juice, Sprite, cherry jello, and cherry sherbert. Her job now is to continue to rest and get ready for hopefully the last big procedure, which is to go up through a vein into the heart, insert dye, see where blockage/damage is, and then to possibly use stints or balloons to open up the closed veins/arteries.
3 comments:
We wish granny the best and wish we could be there to offer our support. We love you. You are in our prayers.
Did she have a bronchoscopy or a thorocentesis to remove the fluid? Let us know what the path report grows. Keep us updated!
Levi, Susie, Aubie, and Radley
Linda, Thank goodness for the signs of improvement. I will keep praying that the improvement continues. I know it has been really hard for your mom and you as well. If my back was better I would offer up my assistance but I'm no good the way it is but I am improving too. Tell your mom I love her and will call her when she is feeling up to it. Judy
Susie--Mom had the thorocentesis on Thursday afternoon about 3pm. On Friday about 9:30 am, the cardiologist had come in and said he was hearing some fluid sounds. I think that is why he decided to proceed with the heart cath instead of waiting any longer. We were kicked out of visiting at the normal 10am, and at 10:15 she was taken to the surgery room to perform the cath. We are definitely happy that it was done quickly and so far everything is looking good.
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