End of Day Report

Not a lot of news today, but the news we've had has been really good! Last night was very rough for Kim, with her vent tube causing a ton of discomfort and some poor hospital communication causing quite a bit of stress, further exacerbated by her doses of dilaudid. We were up most of the night trying to keep calm, but at a couple of points that darn tube just became too much for her, and she wanted it out NOW. Eventually she got some clonazepam which helped her relax enough to get some much needed rest. When she woke up in the morning she told me she'd had some pretty good psychedelic hallucinations so I guess it wasn't all bad :)

So that awful night really set up our high hopes for the tracheotomy, which she finally got this afternoon! I know it may seem odd to be cheering about a hole in your throat, but believe me, Kim feels WAY WAY better without all that junk stuck in her mouth, hindering her every movement. She can't eat, drink, or talk with it, but it's much easier to give her comfort on all those fronts. (We are going to be great lip readers before this is done). Without those tubes her smile is back and she really looks fantastic.

Her vitals are all looking really great today too, and they've backed down her oxygen intake to see how she responds on her own. Thus far that's been great.

The other great benefit of having the trach is she can start getting up for some exercise. Soon she'll be strolling the halls making friends as she seems to always do where she goes.

Next up is waiting for the results of a lung biopsy they did during the tracheotomy. They're checking for signs of rejection to be sure she's staying the course. Although her fever is down, her white blood cell count is still a bit high, so this is part of that due diligence.

The kids of course miss her terribly, but they're being amazingly strong and brave with the continual support of Jessi, Joby, Cheryl, Alan, and all of you who have left delicious comfort food at our door. Thank you all so much for your continued love and support.