End of Day Report
Great rest last night followed by a mostly uneventful day of more resting. It was really great seeing her have some long stretches of dozing to regain some energy and strength.
We got the results of her CT scan back, and it's apparent there is some "gunk" in the lower lobes of her lungs. This could be pneumonia, or some other type of constriction/congestion that's keeping her from reaching full capacity and thus knock the ventilator support once and for all. The biopsy showed some increase in bacterial activity, but it was mostly inconclusive, so they'll be doing some follow-up blood tests tomorrow. There is also still a concern about rejection (there will likely always be so) and although they're not seeing any obvious cell damage, the antibodies could be going a little nuts in her system. Her fever, however, remains down and her white blood cell count has been gradually lowering. Both really good signs, but until we get that gunk identified and cleared, we're not out of the woods.
She's around a million times more comfortable with the trache rather than the mouth tubing, but one downside of the trache is she probably won't be able to talk, eat, or drink for a week or two even after she's off of the air support. This is because of the extra healing required for the hole in her throat, which is a pretty big bummer, but definitely preferable to the alternative. Also, her mouth can be kept nice and moist more easily now, and she can suck on the occasional ice chip. We take the victories where we can get 'em. :)
Kim's doctors often talk about her condition in terms of everything being ALMOST there, but just needing to get over that "last hump". At this point, her best therapy is really about getting a ton of rest and staying calm. I know a few of you have asked about visiting, but for now it's probably best we just give her as much peace and quiet as we can until she clears that hump everyone keeps talking about. Thanks so much for your concern and understanding; I tell her every day (several times a day!) about all the posts, texts and phone calls she gets sending her love and support.
We got the results of her CT scan back, and it's apparent there is some "gunk" in the lower lobes of her lungs. This could be pneumonia, or some other type of constriction/congestion that's keeping her from reaching full capacity and thus knock the ventilator support once and for all. The biopsy showed some increase in bacterial activity, but it was mostly inconclusive, so they'll be doing some follow-up blood tests tomorrow. There is also still a concern about rejection (there will likely always be so) and although they're not seeing any obvious cell damage, the antibodies could be going a little nuts in her system. Her fever, however, remains down and her white blood cell count has been gradually lowering. Both really good signs, but until we get that gunk identified and cleared, we're not out of the woods.
She's around a million times more comfortable with the trache rather than the mouth tubing, but one downside of the trache is she probably won't be able to talk, eat, or drink for a week or two even after she's off of the air support. This is because of the extra healing required for the hole in her throat, which is a pretty big bummer, but definitely preferable to the alternative. Also, her mouth can be kept nice and moist more easily now, and she can suck on the occasional ice chip. We take the victories where we can get 'em. :)
Kim's doctors often talk about her condition in terms of everything being ALMOST there, but just needing to get over that "last hump". At this point, her best therapy is really about getting a ton of rest and staying calm. I know a few of you have asked about visiting, but for now it's probably best we just give her as much peace and quiet as we can until she clears that hump everyone keeps talking about. Thanks so much for your concern and understanding; I tell her every day (several times a day!) about all the posts, texts and phone calls she gets sending her love and support.
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