Holding her own
 

For all you gals and guys...

Progress is in small increments.

For you medical folks...

She is actually down from 10 to 7 infusions, basically antibiotics, pain killers, sedatives, blood thinner and lasix in the afternoons plus dextrose and vitamins etc... No more BP medicines, the essentials hold steady. The O2 level is the same, but it appears they have dialed down the breaths per minute, but the saturation level is at 95+. The tubing is draining her gall bladder which had a lot of "sludge" (medical term, given to me by the resident MD). Some reduction in the swelling; her hands are developing actual wrinkles!! As a side story, she has been plagued with something called pustular psoriasis in her hands. As of now, the cocktails have eliminated this but probably this is simply a "remission".

But what do I know......I am just quietly watching and waiting....

It really sounds like she's headed in the right direction! Keep up the good thoughts and I know we'll all do the same!

Did you tell Katherine Mae about all of "us"? :D

We're all rooting for her and we will all be over for a BBQ when she's feeling better.

That would be one BIG party... :)


KT

She is still under a reasonable amt of sedation, so I am told because they fear she might try to remove vital tubes. One night last week she woke up, tried to take the hose out of her nose and mouthed to the nurse: "Call Bob. I want to go home".

Once she is off the ventilator, they tell me that danger will be gone.

Progress in the right direction is always good!!! Glad to hear that things are improving.

We're pulling for you both. Sounds like she's turning the corner and improving. Keep up the spirit!

Keep her moving in this direction and keep calm yourself. You are the rock now and she needs you to hold onto.

Glad to hear of the progress.

I just signed on to see how Kathryn was doing. Small increments, but still headed in the right direction. Whoo hoo!

+1

Good news indeed. Her lungs should respond soon. Are they doing daily chest x-rays? Any changes? ARDS has a slightly different appearance from CHF.

Moses:

Yes. No infection (pnumonial?) in there. They are a bit puzzled about the slightly elevated white count since her temp is normal. I figure they moved so many things around inside that her body is going through a reconsolidation. That makes sense to me. A lot of stuff to heal in there.

There...I am not being overanalytical; I've learned my lesson. I figure every day that she shows constant vitals is a good thing and the other problems can be overcome.

Thanks for the update! I don't understand any of it, but it sounds good. You & your wife has lots of people thinking about you.

Hopefully you're able to get some rest

I'm really glad to hear that things are improving steadily for your wife (and you)! :)

I'm happy for you.

Times like these that I ponder the serenity prayer:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference.

You're doing great Bob, and so is the wife. Just keep on keepin' on...

Great news indeed! Here's to hoping that she continues in the right direction and things steadily improve.

I had dinner with my triplet sister tonight who went through the same thing four years ago. She has moments, but alive and well. I have no doubts that your wife will also be fine. Best of luck. Actually, if you'd like, I'll be glad to have my sister talk to you about her experience. She is a 2 million dollar insurance baby. There were several times I was sure she was going to be dead. But all in all she's OK now.

Bob, thanks for the update and I am very relieved to hear that Kathryn Mae is making progress, no matter how slowly. I will continue to think of both of you in my prayers.

All the best to both of you.

Le Roux

Tahiti. To help you get through this, think of Tahiti in a lovely candlelit restaurant, caressing her face.

Great news, that she doesn't have pneumonia. For anyone who's been on the vent as long as your wife has, that's certainly a big concern. That her fevers are gone is also good news. Sometimes the white count takes a little bit of time to return to normal. She had a pretty big intraabdominal infection, after all. How elevated is elevated? And, again, what's the trend of the white count? Slowly decreasing? Holding steady? Rising?

But it sounds like she's getting better. Hang in there, as she'll need your support more, as she wakes up more.

Bob,

Ex-wife did a lot of surgery in this area and this is normal. Does not matter how much they try to get everything arranged the way it was, tucked in here and there, its not going to get back into its normal position for a while.

Keep her moving forwards and be there for her and you guys will make it.