Mom
Was just notified that mom's surgery is complete. No bypass was needed, just a valve repair. This was frightening to us because she was precariously unhealthy going in to surgery: failing kidneys, inability to eat, saturated lungs, and diabetes. But she is out of the OR, as of a few moments ago.
Maybe now my headache will go away and I'll be able to sleep!
Maybe now my headache will go away and I'll be able to sleep!
Replies
Good news hugs to you and your family.
Good news.
Awesome, awesome news!!! Big sigh of relief :) Yeah, those conditions are very scary in considering operation complications, but wow... She must be full of fire that one to not need a bypass, get a valve replacement and have the pre-existing stuff to contend with too!
Seriously, I\'m really happy for you guys! Happy endings are very cool!
Matt. That is fantastic news about your mom. Thank you for keeping us updated. I have been praying for your family. Tim is my therapist up at decisions. (A friend of yours I believe) He is a great guy and we have a strong group. I am making some progress but requires going to the gym and riding the exercise bike for 50 minutes and 18 miles each day. Makes me feel better and then into the sauna to sweat. I have also been going to church to pray right after therapy 5 days/week.
Peace my friend and may God continue to bless you and your family:)
Sean
Tim is awesome--you truly lucked out. He\'s the best I know. Stroke, if you really want to try a sweatlodge with us, just email me, seriously! It\'ll wear you out, but feel so good.
Seriously, 18 miles a day? I\'m exhausted for you...!
Glad to hear the good news about your mom!
yay!!!!!!! thats all i have to say. YAY!!!
Today is not going very well. There\'s this tricky balance between too
much fluid retention and not giving her so many meds that her kidneys
can\'t deal with it all. She\'s having difficulty breathing.
She was calmer this afternoon than this morning, but her oxygen counts
were in the low 80s even with a mask. She had a fever this morning so
they started an antibiotic and it is going down now.
The medical staff is very calm and optimistic. They have not said she
is critical. It is hard for us to see though. They will keep her in
ICU for \"several\" more days. We are hoping she gets a private ICU room
later today. They say it is stressful on patients to be so alert and
know that they are still in ICU so hopefully the individual room will
feel like an improvement. We have limited visitation hours as long as
she\'s in ICU.
Please keep her in your prayers.
Will continue to pray for her...
I am still praying for her.
News from my sister:
Well, I\'m not sure what to tell you. I don\'t think anyone would say
she\'s doing well but everyone else is handling it stronger than I am.
I\'m a wreck at this point and just hoping that the boys\' arrival
tomorrow will bring us some strength. I feel awful that I\'m not a
stronger support for dad.
Her heart is beating too quickly and she has afib. She has a fever
that returned and is now on 3 antibiotics to try to knock it out and
the infectious diseases guy is testing her samples - this is protocol
for fevers in ICU. We should know the results sometime tomorrow. The
good news is that fluid continues to drain. I think that is the only
good news. She responded a bit with motion to our voices today but
didn\'t open her eyes. They have her on a low dose of sedative.
We just keep hoping for more good turns.
More from sister:
Today mom\'s temp and heart rate are doing pretty well. She is almost
out of afib.
We met her surgeon this morning. He said her condition is what he was
afraid would happen. He warned us to expect she will stay as is for
another week, in ICU, on the breathing tube. He said the dangers ahead
are if there are kidney issues and infection. Right now her kidneys
look good.
I think dad was pretty disappointed with this report. This surgeon is
an optimist and dad was hoping for better news.
I just met the infectious disease doctor. Her cultures were all
negative. He says it is likely she will develop pneumonia because most
people on the breathing machine that long do. I asked about treatment
and he said it is just antibiotics...and she\'s already on antibiotics.
I\'m not sure how that all works.
Her lung pressure numbers have not improved overall which is another
issue dad is upset about. That was the reason for the surgery so he\'s
afraid that when she learns that she will \"lose her good humor.\" I
think it is because she still has too much fluid in her lungs and I
hope it will improve over time. We have asked to have the
pulmonologist call us when he comes in.
She woke up enough when I was in there to look me in the eye and ask
for help. I prefer to see her peacefully sleeping but I know they want
her to wake up and control her body too.
Matt- VAP (ventilator acquired pneumonia) is VERY common with anyone on a vent for 36 hours or more. There are nursing interventions that are very easy to do that can help prevent these things. Most ICU nurses are super anal-retentative and would be doing this, but it may be a good idea to have your sister double check. 90% of the time, if family asks about certain activities getting done, they will make sure they are done by the book. I don\'t know what kind of facility she\'s in or what, this is just general info.
-Head of bed up 30-45 degrees AT ALL TIMES unless down for a short time for a procedure or unless there is another contraindication. Can\'t think of one...
-Oral care. Her nurses need to be cleaning out her mouth about every 2 hours ideally so the bacteria does not go down her ET tube (the only way VAP is acquired, bacteria down ET tube).It needs to be done well too... Have nursing staff do it. Water in the mouth and down the larynx is a bad idea if someone who\'s trying to be helpful does it themselves. Chlorhexidine gluconate is the best thing for them to use when cleaning rather than just a damp swab. It\'s an anti-infective and especially beneficial for cardiac patients.
-Ask that any condensation that acquires in her tubing (there will be some by nature) is carefully drained, and AWAY from her so it doesn\'t back up to her.
If they give you guys any flack (\"there\'s nothing that proves this prevents VAP,\") have them do it anyway. It may not be regulation by the CDC because of this reason, but it IS standard practice for any good hospital I\'ve ever worked in. I can\'t imagine them giving you a hard time though. This is standard stuff, but that kinda stuff (like washing hands) is what sometimes gets overlooked. Remember, the squeaky wheel gets the oil.
Also, sometimes VAP just happens and there\'s nothing that can be done to prevent it. Just try to keep that in mind also.
Hope this helps, like I said, I hope if your sister mentions this stuff, they shake their heads like, \"DUH!\" But then I guarantee it will get done.
How lucky Matt is to have such detailed info that can do wonders to help make sure his Mom gets the best care. That\'s awesome information, Scuba!
Still watching over this journal. Keep your head up Matt.