FRESH AIR- Today was Jani, Kelty and my first day pretty much entirely out of the hospital, thanks to Nick, Jani & JoAnne's brother. We gals got coffee, we shopped, we ate lunch out... it felt weird, but I think the fresh air was good for us. Nick and his wife, Susan, have been so instrumental in helping us all to be there for JoAnne, and we haven't even mentioned the amazing meals that Susan has been providing (see photo below of Nick and Alex last night)... :)
Nick attended rounds today- see below for his updates on JoAnne:
NEW DOC- Dr. Long will be the attending ICU doctor this week (rotations start on Mondays). I met him in JoAnne's room during rounds (what a parade of shiny interns supervised by a grizzled old veteran!). Long is great. He trained long ago at the University of Maryland where he dealt with many kinds of gangrenous patients. The kind of infection she has is similar to that and, good for her, hasn’t attacked the production of red blood cells as it sometimes can.
His clinical observations from this morning include:
--- He feels that she continues to make progress and it’s now time to close up her abdominal wound to continue the healing process. To facilitate that, they have started providing albumen which should help to decrease cellular swelling from water retention. Following the albumen, they will start her on Lasix, a diuretic, to complement the process and get her down to “lean body weight”, also aiding the healing process.
--- She’s 3rd in line for the O.R. tomorrow, and will likely head in by the afternoon... we'll keep you posted.
--- They continue to decrease her IV sedation while introducing oral pain killers (e.g. oxycodone) which have a longer efficacious interval. The decrease in overall sedatives and pain management is dictated by her blood pressure which is a leading indicator of how much stress she is experiencing as these powerful narcotics are lowered. Managing it takes time...
Everything points to continued progress as she moves towards this next clinical event tomorrow.
Many thanks, Uncle Nick!
Jani & Kelty stopped by this evening to see JoAnne, and Alex and I'll be by tonight after the shift change. Her room has been rather warm from the sun, and she's got a bit of a fever, but all is still going alright... we're just hoping she continues to improve.
Much love to you all, and we'll be in touch by tomorrow evening...
xo Team JoJo
You guys are doing such a great job. Thanks for being there for her since all us down here can't be. It is so comforting to know she is constantly surrounded by those who love her. Looking forward to hearing more soon.
ReplyDeleteProgress.. progress! We like progress! You guys are amazing and such a blessing. xoxo
ReplyDeleteKelty and I keep talking about what a gift it is that we get to see Nick and Susan more often... we live so close but are always so busy that we rarely see one another! A positive element amidst all this hard stuff, right? They sure keep the laughs coming, and have been so instrumental in helping out. Woot! xo
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