Davin and the all the kids and I were healthy enough to get in to see Linda today. She calls just DJAMST, because it's all of our first initials in order (Davin, Jen, Anya, Maya, Sage and Tiernan.) Her room in the ICU is pretty small, but it's still larger than our pop up camper, so we made it work for about 20 minutes. Then the kids and I cleared out so Davin could have some 1 on 1 time with his mom.
Linda was on her Passy-Muir valve again, and this time she was talking like a champ. She's still on the quiet side, but she can belt out full sentences and complex thoughts. It was really good for the kids to be able to hear her, I think they are feeling much better about how she's doing now.
She had some advice for all of us. She wants us to stay active and keep our bodies in good shape. Also, to know to remember that God made us, and that we can rely on Him to help us.
She also told us that she's SHOCKED at how weak she is. Because she spent the first week and a half or so just laying in bed under sedation, and she hasn't been able to do much since then, she's lost a lot of muscle mass. She still doesn't remember how long she's been in the hospital (19 days) and so it's even more surprising to her how much muscle she's lost. So, to sit up, get to a standing position and walk a few steps to a chair is tremendously difficult for her now. The P/T folks are working her out a couple of times a day now, and hopefully she'll be strong again soon.
A bit of bad news today; we don't have her glasses! We have her reading glasses! I've noticed that she can't see the items taped on the walls, or the clock, etc, and I wasn't sure why. Today she told us that she's got the wrong glasses. They're better than nothing, but she can't see anything farther away than an arm's length. Since Brian and Alicia have looked in every nook and cranny in her house for her glasses, and we know her coworkers have checked all over the office, we believe her glasses may have been lost in the ER. We need to find her eye doctor and see what it will take to get her a replacement set. Poor thing!
Also, because the incision from her brain surgery is healed up, and the ventriculostomy is out, they said they can wash her hair later today. This will be her first real shampoo since the aneurysm. She looks fine, but she's had blood and betadyne and everything else in her hair, and I bet she doesn't even realize how much better that will make her feel to get clean. Yay for shampoo!
BIG NEWS!!!! Her nurse stopped Davin and started to tell him about the process to move her to a rehab center. It's good to get more information about this, since it could be happening soon, maybe even in the next week! We don't know how long she'll be there, but it's a big step on the way to going home.
Showing posts with label passy-muir valve. Show all posts
Showing posts with label passy-muir valve. Show all posts
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Friday, October 2, 2009
ZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Not a lot to report from my visit, because Linda slept the whole time. I asked the nurse if that was OK, because in the past they've asked us to keep her up, but he said that it's fine. So I let her saw logs to her heart's content. If you can't sleep away a lazy Friday, what good is a stay in the ICU anyway?
She did wake up for about 8 minutes on the Passy-Muir valve, which knocked her right back out.
Also, we got news about her thoracentesis from yesterday. They were only able to do one side, and hope to do they other side later today. Even so, they pulled out 600 ml. That's 20 oz. of fluid they found in her chest cavity, just on one side, preventing her lungs from expanding. Think about that the next time you're drinking a 20 oz. bottle of soda, that's a little scary, isn't it?
Poor thing!
She did wake up for about 8 minutes on the Passy-Muir valve, which knocked her right back out.
Also, we got news about her thoracentesis from yesterday. They were only able to do one side, and hope to do they other side later today. Even so, they pulled out 600 ml. That's 20 oz. of fluid they found in her chest cavity, just on one side, preventing her lungs from expanding. Think about that the next time you're drinking a 20 oz. bottle of soda, that's a little scary, isn't it?
Poor thing!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Look Who's Talking!
Linda had a trial run with the Passy-Muir valve today, and she was able to talk for 15 minutes! The speech therapist kept her going, asking her questions about her house, and her dog, and stuff that she likes to do, etc. It was SO NICE to hear her speaking! They said they'll try it for a little longer every day, and soon she'll be talking like a champ and using the valve all the time that she's awake.
Right now her voice is very rusty, and it was a lot of effort to speak. So, she was out for a nap after the 15 minutes. But she was so happy to just be able to talk out loud. I actually got pretty teary, I was so excited for her. And PROUD of her! What a big step this is!
The valve works by allowing air to go in through it, but not go out. So, when she breathes out, the air passes the trach and goes up through her vocal chords and out her mouth, just like normal speech. So, if she wanted to, she could talk on the phone or into a microphone, and it would sound just like anyone else.
While the valve was on her trach, they used a nasal cannula to deliver oxygen to her. So, the oxygen wasn't going into the trach, it was going up her nose. Her saturation was excellent the whole time, which bodes well for her getting off of the trach entirely, hopefully soon. Yay!
AMAZING NEWS!!!! I believe Linda remembered something today from yesterday. I may be reading too much into this, so I'll tell you all what happened and you can decide what you think.
Yesterday, one of the respiratory therapists came in to do the regular trach cares, and she didn't like the placement of Linda's pulse oximeter or "pulse ox." She took the old one off of her Linda's finger, and put a new one on her ear lobe. The therapist and I chatted a bit, because I'd never seen one on an ear lobe before, and she explained all the places you can put them.
Today, the same respiratory therapist came in to check on the supplies in Linda's room. As she walked in front of Linda, Linda looked at her, blinked a couple of times, then slowly moved to point to her earlobe and the pulse ox. I said, "Yes, Linda, she's the person who put your pulse ox on your earlobe, you do remember that?" She smiled and nodded her head.
I really do think she remembered her from yesterday! If so, that's the first time I've seen that happen. Hopefully we'll see more of that. Keep praying, your prayers are working!
Meanwhile, back in lung news... Later today they're planning to do a procedure called a thoracentesis. They'll use ultrasound to find pockets of fluid that are outside of her lungs, but inside her chest cavity. Then, they'll use a local anesthetic, and insert a needle or catheter and draw out that fluid. The doctor said that this will allow her lungs to inflate more fully, so she can breathe better and cough more efficiently. Hopefully, this will help resolve her aspiration pneumonia more quickly, since her lungs are causing her so much trouble right now.
Linda asked me to read out loud to her today from a book called Spontaneous Evolution. We read two chapters, and it's pretty interesting so far. That's the first time she's asked for a read-aloud, and she seemed pretty on track with paying attention. We even "discussed" it a bit, through her notes. I thought that was a tremendous bit of fun, and something she just wouldn't have been up for even a week ago.
The only weird, downer bit of news today is that last night she had a period of abnormal heart rhythm called atrial fibrillation, or "afib." They're saying that it's not really a big deal, and they've added a medication to help keep it under control. I just don't like adding new problems at this stage of the game.
Right now her voice is very rusty, and it was a lot of effort to speak. So, she was out for a nap after the 15 minutes. But she was so happy to just be able to talk out loud. I actually got pretty teary, I was so excited for her. And PROUD of her! What a big step this is!
The valve works by allowing air to go in through it, but not go out. So, when she breathes out, the air passes the trach and goes up through her vocal chords and out her mouth, just like normal speech. So, if she wanted to, she could talk on the phone or into a microphone, and it would sound just like anyone else.
While the valve was on her trach, they used a nasal cannula to deliver oxygen to her. So, the oxygen wasn't going into the trach, it was going up her nose. Her saturation was excellent the whole time, which bodes well for her getting off of the trach entirely, hopefully soon. Yay!
AMAZING NEWS!!!! I believe Linda remembered something today from yesterday. I may be reading too much into this, so I'll tell you all what happened and you can decide what you think.
Yesterday, one of the respiratory therapists came in to do the regular trach cares, and she didn't like the placement of Linda's pulse oximeter or "pulse ox." She took the old one off of her Linda's finger, and put a new one on her ear lobe. The therapist and I chatted a bit, because I'd never seen one on an ear lobe before, and she explained all the places you can put them.
Today, the same respiratory therapist came in to check on the supplies in Linda's room. As she walked in front of Linda, Linda looked at her, blinked a couple of times, then slowly moved to point to her earlobe and the pulse ox. I said, "Yes, Linda, she's the person who put your pulse ox on your earlobe, you do remember that?" She smiled and nodded her head.
I really do think she remembered her from yesterday! If so, that's the first time I've seen that happen. Hopefully we'll see more of that. Keep praying, your prayers are working!
Meanwhile, back in lung news... Later today they're planning to do a procedure called a thoracentesis. They'll use ultrasound to find pockets of fluid that are outside of her lungs, but inside her chest cavity. Then, they'll use a local anesthetic, and insert a needle or catheter and draw out that fluid. The doctor said that this will allow her lungs to inflate more fully, so she can breathe better and cough more efficiently. Hopefully, this will help resolve her aspiration pneumonia more quickly, since her lungs are causing her so much trouble right now.
Linda asked me to read out loud to her today from a book called Spontaneous Evolution. We read two chapters, and it's pretty interesting so far. That's the first time she's asked for a read-aloud, and she seemed pretty on track with paying attention. We even "discussed" it a bit, through her notes. I thought that was a tremendous bit of fun, and something she just wouldn't have been up for even a week ago.
The only weird, downer bit of news today is that last night she had a period of abnormal heart rhythm called atrial fibrillation, or "afib." They're saying that it's not really a big deal, and they've added a medication to help keep it under control. I just don't like adding new problems at this stage of the game.
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