Good evening!
My wife is one tough cookie. I can’t begin to imagine what it would feel like to be on the ventilator and be awake enough to communicate! She will point, make hand motions, write on a piece of paper, and try to type on the iPad. Writing, on the piece of paper, seems to work the best. If not, I just stand around an guess what she wants. I think that really irritates her. Or it might just be me!
She had a stable night. No big changes. They did try and wean the vent again early this morning but she still wasn’t ready. Bummer. I was hoping that today would be the day. Her doctor in Roseburg has been very nice and is calling/texting daily. I tell him what I think, he verifies it with UWMC and then translates everything into something I understand. Like tonight, he text and asked how things were. I told him that it was steady day, but not much improvement. Told him the vent numbers and he said not to worry about the peep of 8. They can either increase oxygenation by increasing O2 or peep. If the doctor/team increase peep they have to leave it turned up for a longer period of time. He said he would call Dr. Mulligan and the team tomorrow.
When we all got to the hospital, Jen was awake but really sleepy. That really didn’t wear off until late morning. The physical therapist came in and Jen sat upright with her feet dangling over the edge of the bed. They did some exercises with her and the nurse changed the bed into the chair position. She sat up for quite some time! Way cool to see that! She was pretty excited about it!
The afternoon/evening was rough for her. She has an arterial catheter and they only last for a couple days. She has very tiny arteries so it is a challenge even with the ultra sound machine. I know it hurts her, but she was trooper! Took 5 tries. After the attending was finishing up, he made the comment about no more needles. She wanted to write. She wrote “you promised no more needles”. Then made him pinky promise. That process lasted what seemed like hours, so it really interrupted her drag racing on TV. She got to watch some it, which I think made her feel better. Got her all tucked in tonight and she said she was tired. Tomorrow brings a new day and I hopeful that improvements come tomorrow! I believe she has a healing pattern of: improve then take a day off from improving, then improve and take a day off! Tomorrow should be a good one!
Good Night!
Praying that tomorrow brings the improvement that you’re hoping for and a step closer to her getting the vent removed! Keep your chin up! Look how far she has already came! You are also “one tough cookie” and she’s lucky to have you…even if you do suck at charades! Hahahaha! We love you and are looking forward to tomorrow’s update
Just wanted to say that I’m so happy you finally got this opportunity. I really enjoying reading all the updates and it makes me very happy to know that everything is going well…. Well going in that direction anyway!! I hope the process goes by faster and you can get back to your life soon!!! 🙂
She is indeed a tough cookie!! Like the doc says, it will just take time. Keep up the good work, I know Jen appreciates every minute you spend supporting her. Looking forward to seeing you both soon 🙂
Well done, Kerry! Jen is tough, so be patient with her when she seems annoyed with you. Right now, she is very limited as to how she communicates with you and I’m sure it’s frustrating for her, too. However, this is the basics of communication and in its purest form. It takes complete focus and it’s coming from the heart. Believe me, when the vent comes out and she can talk again, you won’t have to guess what she is thinking. The healing process is working, but never at the speed we desire. It will come! Love you both and keeping you in prayer.
Man you weren’t kidding day on day off. Awesome day today! We all appreciate the updates.