Sleeping Beauty is waking

Our princess is coming back to life more. Wednesday morning she was much more alert and off the sedatives. She tried to tell me something hurt. She could only point so far in the restraints but kept pointing towards her right shoulder. Did her neck hurt where they took out some lines? Was she cold? No, I didn't notice at first, that she opened her mouth while pointing. Her throat hurts badly and she wants the breathing tube out but it looks like a few more days with it in while her lungs get stronger.

Her color is back more and she is starting to look more like herself. The nurses are sitting her up several times during the day to get her lungs working better-not entirely sure what that does but any movement is good for her.

She continues to get food and vitamins and a dieretic flush via the feeding tube. She won't be able to eat food for a while especially with such a sore throat. So nobody talk about fried rice around her.

What an encouraging visit to see the person I know inside shine through. It's only a  small bit of her but she's coming back to us.

February 1, 2012 @ 9:30am

Progress!

The balloon pump has been removed. Now mom only has the pacemaker to remind her heart of its rhythm. They drained off 4 liters of fluid and the eye blister is nearly gone. What a miraculous day it's been for Mom. Tomorrow they will start moving her limbs and see how well she does. It will still be a while before the breathing tube goes. She was pretty sedated but kept trying to get her hands there. That's her worst nightmare even sedated.

Well good night on such a good night ;)

Tuesday is a good day!

Stopped by at 9:30am today to visit my mom. She was more awake and had her eyes open a bit. She looked at me and followed my face for a bit then drifted off. She did this several times. I'm sure she wanted to tell me something but she can't. She kept struggling against her arm restraints-she's getting restless.

The good news is they have dialed back the balloon pump further and things are looking great. The nurse was even hopeful that they could take her off of it tonight! That would be miraculous.

She is also breathing on her own. They have oxygen going but she's now doing all the work herself. That could mean she might be awake and out of the ICU soon. That is such a great accomplishment.

Over all a very good morning! Thanks to all you who are help make this happen with all your thoughts and prayers.

Just talked with mom's nurse. They have dialed back her balloon pump to a 1-2 ratio and she's doing well. Going to try to change it up again in the morning. Once she can handle a 1-4 ratio the pump can come out and she can be less sedated. That's the next goal to shoot for. Then next goes the breathing tube. This is such good news.

Monday

Well the good news is Bonnie's color is coming back and her hands are no longer ice cold. The nurse's have started adjusting her balloon pump (which helps control how much blood is going out of her heart) to beat every other beat. It's just temporary but it helps them know how strong she's getting. They also have been reducing the blood pressure meds (there are 3) slowly.

Today they installed a feeding tube in mom's nose. But it's a good thing because her digestive system needs to start back to work. This is so good! That means the bloating will go down since she will get food in her intestine instead of in her blood. They asked about any food allergies and I didn't know. If anyone knows, send me a message. Marci thinks maybe wheat.

While I was there, the nurse changed the tie around her head. Not sure how much more mom can be tortured with her clausterphobia but they are sure working her! Good thing she's sedated.

It does look like the pacemaker might be permanent, at least for a while. Her heart beat is very irregular and it makes a difference to have that firing off beats.

The lining of her eyes has also been expanding with all the liquid. She's developed what almost look like blisters on her eyes. The nurse said this would go away when the swelling goes down. They look awfully painful though.

My dad is doing ok. He mostly deals by staying positive and busy. He's been working off and on and will probably work is temple shift this week. Last night he started the laundry for the first time in his life. This morning he called wanting to know how the get the dryer door open. I tried to help him telling him to turn it off or stop they cycle and it would unlock. I guess not. Marci even stopped by to help him open the dryer door. After several tries she told him to try opening the other side, the side that actually does the opening. That was a good laugh.

Think this is getting harder on little Dougie (yes I see the irony). He misses mom and has had 2 seizures today. He gets stressed out from noise and has been staying with Marci during the day so he's not alone.

I am really hopeful that she will only be in the ICU for 3 more days. Eventhough the pictures are frightful she really is looking better and I can't wait to walk in and see her sitting up with her eyes open. Although we do think it will be weeks before she will leave and months before she's able to care for herself, it is starting to look more and more possible.

Thanks for your kindness to my family. I'm starting to feel the wear of this all but so thankful for all the help.

Monday Jan 30, 2012 9:45am

Sunday

For the most part, Bonnie is in a drug induced coma. The nurses bring her out once a day in the mornings and say she's neurologically still with us. Today she had retained much more fluids and looked extremely bloated and puffy. They estimate she has more than 25 lbs of extra liquid in her body.

The good news is she's making slow progress. The top half of her heart (what was worked on in surgery) continues to beat at a slower pace than the bottom. Once that catches up and her heart's output ejection rate raises, she'll be ready to come out of the ICU. For now it looks like 2-3 more days in this same mode.

We are hoping that the breathing tube will come out today or tomorrow which means less sedation. She's pretty much breathing on her own. She'll will be so happy to have that tube out. However, the sedative she's on also effects her memory and she won't remember any of what happens to her while in the ICU. Good thing!

At some point the nurse will start a feeding tube since her digestive organs need to wake up and this will help.

As a family we are trying not to stimulate her by talking, waking her, or touching her too much. All these things, which she'd love to have, only puts her heart in a critical mode by removing the little oxygen that is present. So for now we are letting her sleep and hope she knows how many people are praying for her recovery, some how I think she knows. Like the nurse said Sunday, "This woman is a fighter!"

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers. Some times I haven't been able to get back to friends and family who have called. It's been very draining to keep discussing the new developments 5-6 times a day with my siblings and then to add others it gets so overwhelming. So I appreciate you checking in on this blog. Makes my family happy to have me off the phone. For a bit anyway.

Keep you updated!

Nurse's report

Marci's mother-in-law, Mina, is a nurse. She called and spoke to mom's nurse and gave us more details of the surgery--

Bonnie's kidneys are doing better, all organs including her lungs are ok.

They are doing another echo cardiogram today to see how her heart is doing.

Sedation is critical to keep her alive.

The did 3 things in surgery:

1. Aortic valve replacement

2. Mitral valve replacement

3. Maze proceedure-done to stop the irregular heart beat (atrial fibrillation)

While doing the maze , the mitral valve started leaking.

Fortunately the medication that was the scariest has been stopped. More to come.

We are having Mina over to my house Sunday night at 7pm to give us more details. If you'd like to come call me 801-815-2249