Two posts in one / Mimi and Steph

02-20-2006 / Melissa's birthday!

I just got home from the hospital and I'm pleased to report that physically she is doing pretty well. BP is 154/68 and holding pretty steady, with the strong medication Melissa wrote about in the email and following blog section below (keep reading). They have lowered her BP med drip significantly and her kidneys are "resettling" after all the stress. It will be a couple of days before we get any consistent numbers from her renal output. I am learning quite a lot from the amazing doctors and nurses at Medical City. Every single person that we worked with or even met has been kind and patient and sincere. They have really taken the time to talk in a manner that is clear and understandable without talking down or condescending . I'm just in love with the staff!

I am concerned about mom's spiritual and personal progress. She seems very, very down and it's frightening to see her in this state. Kathy J is with her right now and Marc and Mimi will be back at the 4-6 visiting window. I'm taking Gran back up there tonight. She is extremely weak and doesn't talk, almost at all. She occasionally asks for something but other than those few times she has been very quite. If you know Mom you know how much this is not her. She is extremely sore in her chest from the CPR and keeps getting the hiccups; not a good combo. I did stay the night mainly because Mom was frightened. She had a lot of questions yesterday and I feel like she was shocked that all this has happened. It's also a real wake-up call for her about the realities of being as physically frail as she is. It's had to reconcile when you are strong of spirit and will and weak in the flesh. If she is better this evening I'm going to talk to her about Paul. We've been praying and praying together. God id so faithful and He is responding to our prayers and she is getting better. Now if she will turn her attitude in a more positive direction, we will be making more dramatic progress.

A special thank you to all the amazing friends who have come to the hospital. Every time I see a familiar face I am personally strengthened and renewed. I am keeping a list for mom of who has come so that she will know how much she is loved and needed. Thank you for the phone call and the emails. I am printing them and taking them to her to lift her up. I told God Saturday night that He could no have her yet, that she was still needed here and I meant it. I believe He is taking compassion on me and we are getting another chance to let her know how much she is needed.
________________________________________________________________________
Melissa's email / 2/19/2006
________________________________________________________________________
Well Mom is the first to tell you she doesn't do anything the easy way. We love her but boy do we all wish she'd be easy!

On that note, during the day yesterday she was doing much better. After they removed the vent she was resting well. The BP medicine she is on is the strongest medicine possible and can only be administered in ICU....so the plan is for her to stay in ICU until she can get her BP regulated and on a different medication.

Sometime around 4:00 they noticed her central line that is inserted into her main artery (I believe they said Vena Cava, but what do I know), started leaking. They can't figure out why and so they ran many blood tests to see what the problem could be. Luckily the tests came back clear so they think she may have stretched the incision with her constant moving around. Around 5:30 yesterday she started getting nauseous again. They had lowered her BP meds and on top of the nausea her BP started going back up to the 190's. They gave her some nausea medicine which really didn't help and increased her meds. The nurse made me leave about 6:30 due to visiting hours and at that point mom was still feeling very sick to her stomach, but the BP was back in the 140s, luckily. The nurse is a little concerned about her Renal output. She isn't sure if the ordeal mother went through on Saturday is the cause or if her kidneys are having other trouble. They intend to keep an eye on that. Steph & Marcus got there around 8:00 and after Mom still have so much nausea and irregular BP issues, Steph decided to stay the night. As of this morning, they have given Mom some sedatives so she can rest.

Thank you all for your visits and prayers. Like Steph said, Mom is a fighter!! We know she'll get pass this test too; the Lord ALWAYS pulls her through! His grace is extraordinary, isn't it?

Love to you all!
Melissa