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September 30, 2007
Slowly Cruisin'
Mom hasn't made too much progress since yesterday. They DID take out her other chest tube and are talking about taking out her last two small drain tubes in a day or two. So that's the best news of today.
However, we realized we have to ween her off the ventilator a bit slower than we've been because she'd been off it breathing on her own for many hours and the CO2 was building up too much. We tried to get her out of bed to take her down the hallway where she could look out the windows and see some sunshine. And she hadn't been making much of a fuss at all today, not like yesterday. But when they tried to put the sling on her (goes around her back and under her arms), she deliberately slipped her arms out of it so she would sit back down on the bed. She was resisting me and the nurses to the point of complete defiance until we finally decided to give it up and put her back in bed. When the CO2 builds up, she gets a bit confused and becomes very uncooperative to the point of being completely unyielding. And today, she was absolutely refusing to get out of bed.
But that notwithstanding, she was able to talk a little bit. They have a cap that goes over her trach tube so that she can talk but still get oxygen from the trach mask. She doesn't seem used to talking anymore since she's only had to point to things since she got the trach a couple weeks ago. But she did say a few words (not sentences) which is good. Don called me today while I was there and I got her to say hello to him on the phone.
The doctor says that her white blood count is a bit down which, we suspect, is probably due to the antibiotics she's been given. But she has to come off that soon anyway, so hopefully, that'll correct itself.
I may go visit her again Wednesday night for a couple hours. Then I'll be back on Friday for the weekend.
Posted by Amy at 09:40 PM | Comments (0)
September 29, 2007
Gaining Speed on the Road to Recovery
Mom's still doing well and gaining more ground every day it seems. Today, she was very alert and very lucid. The only thing that kind of bothers me is that she's having a lot of anxiety. She'd been taking medication for it, but was starting to need it too much, so the doctor cut her off. So now, when she wants something and can't have it she gets frustrated and gets very fussy.
But this is a mixed blessing because today, she kept wanting to go to the bathroom. But she's got tubes to take care of her waste, so she doesn't need to. The reason it's good is because she'll ask for one of us to help her up so she can walk to the bathroom. But obviously, she's not strong enough for that, she's hooked up to too much stuff and doesn't need to anyway, but we just help her stand up so that she exercises her muscles to gain back her strength.
When she's sitting and we don't help her, she gets frustrated, stomps her feet and pounds her fists. I hate to say it, but I find it amusing when she does this. Besides, it's really good that she's moving her arms and legs. I even let her--literally--kick me in the butt since I'm the "mean" one to her (making her to do the things she's supposed to do, etc.). She didn't do it very hard, but I would have been glad if she did.
The BEST part of the news, however, is that the doctor wanted her to get out of her room for a while. So the nurse, the respiratory therapist, the ICU doctor and another doctor, along with me, Dad and Ippie, all took her down to the atrium garden for a short while. She was in a wheelchair, so she didn't have to do any walking, but it was really good to get her out of the room--even for 10 minutes or so. If I were her, I'd be sick to death of looking at the same walls 24/7 for over 6 weeks now.
After we got back to the room, the nurse did a test to see if she could swallow anything more solid than just water with the trach tube. She got a spoonful of vanilla ice cream and did well. The better she does with this and the more she breathes well on her own, the sooner they'll take out the trach. Plus, the respiratory doctor saw her this morning and was talking about taking out the chest tube and her other 2 drainage tubes. He didn't say when, but he said probably soon. The more tubes they take out of her, the better! I can't wait to see how well she does by next week.
Posted by Amy at 06:22 PM | Comments (1)
September 26, 2007
On the Road to Recovery
OMIGOD!OMIGOD!OMIGOD!!! I'm so excited I can't contain myself! I think Mom's really on the road to recovery or at least off the side streets and starting down the highway. I left work to visit her for a couple hours. When I got to the hospital about an hour and a half ago I was amazed! They removed a bunch of tubes from her!
They've removed her left chest tube, two of her abdominal drain lines and all but ONE of her IV lines! They removed her central IV line, so the Heparin (blood thinner) is the only thing connected to her PICC line in her arm. She's still has her feeding tube (through her nose into her stomach), but it's still going at 55 ml's per hour (she's been at that dose for several days). The nurse told me respiratory wanted to take her off both chest tubes, but decided to go cautiously (and rightly so) so they left the right tube in.
She's also still on and off the ventilator, but when I got here, she had been sitting up for about an hour and a half, and was breathing completely on her own with a trach mask over the trach tube (it's a small mask that fits over the tube opening that supplies her with oxygen and humidity so that her throat secretions don't get too thick). Plus her swelling has gone down. I believe they're still giving her Lasix (diuretic) so that's been helping. But her hands, arms and legs aren't nearly as swollen as when I'd seen her last on Sunday. Her left hand is still a little puffy, but her shins and forearms and right hand look pretty normal and the nurse says she can now feel pulses in her feet.
I asked her how she felt and she grimaced and shook her head (to mean she wasn't feeling good), but I can't tell you all how happy I am to see her connected to much fewer lines! I just hope she continues to heal at this rate and that nothing negative happens. YAAAAYY!!!
Posted by Amy at 09:20 PM | Comments (2)
September 24, 2007
Sept. 23 Update
Mom seems to have hit something of a plateau with her recovery. I believe they're still taking her on and off the vent, but this weekend, she seemed a bit sleepier than I'd have liked. She was still lucid and communicative when awake, though. In fact, she asked to be put in a chair so she could sit upright for a while. She sat up on Saturday for, I think, a couple hours and twice on Sunday for an hour each. She told me that earlier in the week, she'd watched about 3 hours of the Planet Earth DVD I bought for her birthday, which she really enjoyed. She's still hooked up to a lot: the ventilator, several IV tubes (though one or two less than before), and her drainage tubes everywhere. But her spirits are still pretty good since Ajahn Amaro's visit. Though, I've tried to get her to listen to some Dharma recordings or the chanting tape I made while Ajahn Amaro was here, but she never seems in the mood for that. Perhaps when she's a little stronger.
I still have no idea how long it'll take her to go home, but I'm really hoping it won't be more than a few weeks to a month at most. Though her recovery is still headed positively, it has been quite slow, so it's virtually impossible for anyone to say how long it'll take.
Thank you all for your continued show of support for my mother and your continued prayers!
Posted by Amy at 12:44 PM | Comments (0)
September 22, 2007
Sept. 22 Update
I got here last night and Mom still seems to be doing ok. She was quite alert when I got here. The nurse said she'd been off her ventilator breathing on her own all day and I believe she was off it all night. She didn't sit up at all, but the nurse told me she'd done some leg exercises in bed. When I do that with her, she feels strong, but I don't think she trusts herself because she's been in bed so long. She can squeeze my hands pretty tight, but I notice some weakness in her arms as she tries to raise them when she scratches her head. Her stats still are pretty good, although Dad said this morning, her CO2 levels were a bit high and she was quite groggy, so they put her back on the vent. She's been mostly sleepy all morning and into the afternoon today. And she tries to tug at her trach tube and feeding tube, and scratch the drain sites which I have to constantly remind her not to do. I think today will be mostly just a resting day.
Posted by Amy at 12:55 PM | Comments (1)
September 19, 2007
Sept. 19 Update
The surgeon came to see her this morning as well as the infectious disease doctor and said that she's still progressing in a positive direction--not as fast as we'd all like, but still going the right way. They took her down for another cat scan to see how her abdomen looks compared to the last one they took last week. There's probably another pocket of infected fluid they have to drain, but things seem to be improving. The radiologist said there's one cavity that's collapsed, meaning that one of the pockets of infected fluid has pretty much all drained out which is very good.
She's still very communicative--she frets about not having a voice and not being able to eat anything through her mouth (they gave her a feeding tube). She even went off the ventilator today for a couple hours, I think. She was breathing on her own and doing pretty well. There were a couple moments when her pulse/oxygen got a little low, but you just have to remind her to take some deep breaths and she does ok. That's a good start to getting her off the breathing machine.
And she must be better because she's actually watching a bit of TV today--she hasn't wanted to for a couple weeks now. All in all, her improved condition is making me feel more secure so that I can start my new job tomorrow and not have to worry too much about her. (She was SOOOOO excited and so happy when I told her about it! Even gave me a thumbs-up sign!) I'll be on call for her during the week while I work and visiting on weekends. As long as there is someone here all the time with her, she won't get too lonely. My brother's been very good about working remote so he can stay here; my dad's been here every day and my sister visits when she can (otherwise she's looking after the kids). Plus Mom's sister has been here for 2 weeks, though she has to go back this Sunday for a doctor's appointment. I'm sure she'll be back as soon as possible.
Posted by Amy at 01:59 PM | Comments (1)
September 18, 2007
Sept. 18 Update
Mom's still looking good today. She's completely alert and very communicative. She's been writing things on paper to ask for things (she's asked to bring her pictures of the family and such) or to tell us things. I know she's anxious to get out of here, but of course, it's a sloooooow process. She's been sitting up in the "cardiac" chair quite a bit now. It's a chair that starts out like a flat gurney. They lay her flat in bed, then slide her onto the gurney. Then you can lower the legs and raise the back into a chair position. That way, she can still be connected to all her IVs, drains, and ventilator but still sit pretty normally. I think all in all, she's in good spirits, thanks to Achan Amaro. His visit really meant a great deal to her and if he's reading this, on behalf of all us Surakomols, THANK YOU Achan!!
The surgeon just came to visit and says she's almost half-way to her goal. She's been on the ventilator since Thursday of last week (about 5 or 6 days now). The redness around the infected site is reducing in size and he's upped the amount of food she's getting through the feeding tube a little. She has pain on and off, but I don't think it's as much as last week or before. So she's doing pretty well, all things considered.
FYI to my readers: I just got hired for a new job that I start on Thursday, so I may not have as many updates. I'll be visiting her on the weekends and will be "on-call" during the week while I'm at work (in Southfield). But I'll update as much as possible.
Posted by Amy at 11:57 AM | Comments (0)
September 17, 2007
Sept. 17 Update
Today seems to be an even better day for Mom. She's more awake and alert. She's still on the ventilator and unable to talk, but she's able to communicate what she wants by either pointing to the word on a chart my sister made or by writing it down.
She seems in much better spirits since having Ajahn Amaro here. I think he's really lifted her mood quite a bit. He's been talking to her and chanting and I think it's really making her feel a lot better (mentally). I even had her laughing this morning when I got here. I recanted the story of how I asked my aunt (who's a known scatterbrain) to show me the shorter way here to the hospital. My aunt would point and say "Take the street, take the street." To which, I would reply, "WHICH street??" Or she would say, "Ok, when you get to the street, then turn." Again, to which I would reply, "Which street and turn which way??" Obviously, my aunt is very directionally challenged. I had told my aunt, "I know you can see the way in your head, but I can't read your mind. You have to be more specific than just saying 'take the street,' and 'turn.'" I looked at my mom and said, jokingly, "This is YOUR sister! Ha ha!" She found the story very amusing.
And seeing as she was doing so much better, I gave her the birthday present I bought for her and read the card to her. I think she really appreciated it since I wrote in the card how appreciative I am of her, how much I love her and that my taking care of her now is just one way for me to repay her for all her sacrifices. I also showed her the heart pillow that my 9-year-old niece sewed for her for her birthday and told her how much she missed her and wanted her to get well. She took the heart pillow, squeezed it hard, and held it to her heart.
She's still draining fluid from her chest and abdomen, which I think is good. She still aches and her chest tubes bother her, but the nurse said that's to be expected. She seems to be progressing little by little so far.
Posted by Amy at 02:11 PM | Comments (0)
September 16, 2007
More on Mom
They've taken Mom off the sedation, though she still has the tube in her throat. She's breathing by a ventilator, though occasionally, they take her off it and let her breathe on her own. She's more alert today, though still sleeps quite a bit. She can't talk, but she can communicate quite a bit by pointing to things or writing down what she wants. She's been a bit feverish, though they're giving her Tylenol. The surgeon came to look at her and says she seems to be fighting the infection, though it's a slow process. He doesn't want to take things too quickly or else we could "lose ground," as he put it. When she's a little stronger, maybe then I'll give her her birthday present since she was unconscious the entire day. Though we still have to take things a day at a time, today seems to be a good day, she's looking better and seemingly doing better.
Posted by Amy at 04:05 PM | Comments (0)
September 13, 2007
Update on Mom
I'm really sad to say that things are beginning to look bad. Mom's blood gases are really off and they're putting an endotracheal tube down her throat right now. Then tomorrow, they're planning to cut a hole in her throat from the outside and put in a tracheotomy tube. The tube should correct the blood gas problem, according to my sister (who's a doctor). But she and Dad are really really worried which is making me worry. They understand more about what's going on than I do, me not being in the medical field.
But as I say, we're taking it day by day since we can't predict anything from one day to the next. I'll keep posting updates as I'm able.
ADDENDUM:
Mom's being sedated for today and tomorrow to minimize her discomfort with the tracheal tube. Then Sunday, Achan Amaro (monk) will come to visit her and pray for her.
Posted by Amy at 10:24 AM | Comments (1)
September 12, 2007
Tiger Temple
Here's something I HAVE to do the next time I go to Thailand. This is Tiger Temple. It's a temple where the monks take care of tigers. I found out about it from my mom's friend Linda, who came to visit her in the hospital today. We were chatting at lunch and she told me all about it. So we did a little Googling and found it on the internet.
I guess some of them are grumpy, but some of them are friendly and I think you can even meet them. The temple is about 2-3 hours northwest of Bangkok and it costs about $110 dollars to go on a tour (includes a tour of other tourist sites as well) for one day and for 2 people. Not too bad!
I also want to get Don to Thailand and have my uncle, the General, to take us to a Thai kickboxing (Muay Thai) tournament. Maybe go for a helicopter ride as well (he took my brother last time). It'll be a little tricky convincing Don to go to Thailand since it's hot there and he hates the heat. But if we go maybe during the month of December, maybe it won't be so bad. I've been there at that time and it can be just about like summer here in Michigan, though maybe a bit more humid. Besides, at some point, it'll be necessary for him to go if we have to go for a funeral. But hopefully it won't take that for him to get there.
Then the last thing I want to do in Thailand is go for the Songkran Festival in April. It's a celebration of the Thai New Year and it's one big country-wide water fight! How fun is that! Hopefully someday soon I'll get to do all these things.
Posted by Amy at 01:50 PM | Comments (0)
September 11, 2007
Update on Mom
So Mom went in to have her belly drained again. She's been extremely bloated and the fluid turned out to be infected. On the right side where they operated, there was coagulated blood that became infected. So they injected something that would break up the clot and could then be drained through a small tube. That was working, but they decided to drain her left side as well. Turns out there was a cloudy fluid (a form of pus) and they inserted a small tube on that side to drain as well. They also drained by syringe about 340cc of infected fluid.
Things are not looking as good as we had hoped. John says that because she'd been living with a diseased colon for several weeks before surgery (a result of the radiation for her cancer therapy a few years ago), she started out on the bad side and now, because she went in so sick, things have gotten worse.
Tomorrow they'll do a scope to find out if she's got any more diseased colon and they'll continue to drain for a while to see if she makes any more improvement. If not, she may have to go back in for surgery to remove any infected parts. We're trying to avoid any invasive procedures as much as possible since this would obviously be hard on her already touchy condition.
Right now, we're all taking it literally day by day and hoping for the best. I just want to thank all of you out there for your well wishes. I know my mom appreciates it, as does the rest of my family. I'll keep you all posted.
Oh, and by the way, please take a moment to remember all the heroes we lost on this day 6 years ago on September 11th.
Posted by Amy at 10:21 PM | Comments (0)
September 04, 2007
Georgian Bay and Mom
WOW! It's been incredibly busy for me...so much so that I haven't had any chance to do any job hunting in a while. I've been looking after Mom (and the rest of my family while they're in Kalamazoo), then took a break to go to Miami, Florida for a weekend to train in martial arts (photos are here), then back to Kalamazoo, then back to Ann Arbor for just a few days before taking a holiday weekend in Canada (City of Meaford, Georgian Bay, Ontario). And now I'm back in Kalamazoo again.
The trip to Canada was really cool. We left Thursday at about 5:15, got to the border at about 8pm and got through customs after only about 15 minutes (record time!). Then we got to the cottage at 11:40 and we only had to stop for dinner for about 20 minutes. The whole weekend was just PERFECT, gorgeous weather. Sunny and warm, light breezy, perfect for being out on the lake or the beach. I got lots of great sun and took some really good naps on the catamarand while Don helped the guys take in the boating equipment and prepare the cottages for the end of summer.
Saturday was eventful...Tom wanted to take his boat out of the water, so him and Don and I jumped in to take it to the marina so Tom and Karen could put it on their trailer. Don drove the boat 2/3 of the way there, but the waves kept growing bigger and when water started splashing over our heads, Tom decided to take the wheel. The waves still kept getting bigger and we got close to the harbor, just outside the entrance when we got caught between two 4-foot waves. The one behind was pushing us into the one in front and about 6 inches of water washed over the bough. It nearly washed Tom's shoes and sweater overboard and Don and I thought we'd be swimming back to shore. Luckily, Tom had shoved the boat into reverse as we hit the front wave, repelling the full force of the water. Thank goodness that only happened once--if it had happened again, I would have thought we'd be done for. Though since it was only once, I was confident Tom had things well under control and wasn't too worried.
Anyway, we managed alright to the boat launch and while Tom and Karen were busy getting the boat onto the trailer, I took a moment to wring out Tom's sweater when I felt a sharp sting on the inside of my thigh. I quickly realized a bee or wasp had flown up my shorts and stung me!! The NERVE of that thing stinging me there!! How DARE it?! And as I swatted it away, it stung me once more before flying off. MAN, DID THAT HURT!! It took everything I had not to curse my bloody head off, seeing as I WAS in a public place. Luckily, Karen had some burn ointment in her first-aid kit which she graciously lent to me. That helped a LOT with the initial pain (which I felt right down through the muscle of my leg). It's a good thing I'm not allergic to bee stings. It swelled up alright, but not terribly huge. Once we got back to the house, Karen continued to administer her wonderful Florence Nightingale skills to treat my sting. She gave me an "after-bite" ointment that has ammonia in it which is used for stings, then she made me up a baking soda and water paste to apply (I think that sucks the toxins out), and THEN she even gave me several ice packs after that. Oh, what would have happened without her! Mostly, it hurt the first day/night. I had to sleep with an ice pack on it all night long because the moment my leg returned to normal body temperature, it would ache incredibly. Once I woke up the next morning, it was much less painful and in fact, the skin was really just itchy and somewhat raw. Though I did have a cramp in the side of my butt because of the way I had to position my leg all night. And it progressively got better throughout the day so that I was even able to take a ride on the Sea Doo later on. I'll have a link to pictures once Don's uploaded them.
Anyway, I'm back now in Kzoo till Thursday when I switch shifts with my brother who's staying here till Monday. I'll come back when he leaves. Right now, Mom's back in the ICU having to use a BIPAP respirator (a mask that looks like a fighter pilot's mask and puts positive pressure in her lungs to help her breathe better). The doctors are going to do some needle tests tomorrow to test the fluid in her belly to see why she's still distended (her belly should have decreased in size by now). It's such a tricky thing balancing her recovery from surgery with her heart conditions and she seems to have been having one problem after another. Plus she's so tired that she never wants to do her breathing or walking exercises as she's supposed to. As a result, her bowels are not returning to normal use and she's had to be on a nutritive IV as well as all her other medications as well as a foley (a tube that helps you get rid of urine waste). It's stressing us all out because we're so worried about her and I think it's starting to get to my dad and my brother because they're snapping at me a bit. It's starting to get to me too, but I just usually feel like I want to cry, but don't in front of the others. Plus, being here takes me away from Don which adds to the stress. But there's nothing to do about it except to keep prodding my mom to do what she needs to get out of the hospital. Next week is her birthday and I'm hoping and praying she'll be out by then.
I'll keep you all updated. And thank you to all those who have sent me their well wishes for my mother's quick recovery!! It's much appreciated.
Posted by Amy at 08:29 PM | Comments (0)