Update via Colorado!

Thanks for those of you who gave us some good ideas on things that a person confined to a room in a place they don't really want to be, might find useful and cheery.  Her room is really shaping up.  Jake and Mark had to take her to dialysis on Thursday and Saturday because there was problem scheduling 'transport' (aka - ambulance) to take her to Suburban Hospital for her regularly scheduled dialysis.  Apparently Derby affects EVERYTHING in Louisville!

They weighed her finally and at 5'9" she only weighs 107 lbs!  I had guessed 110 and Jen guessed 105 - so she split it right down the middle.  It is hard to see her so thin.

She has been bored and tired.  I think the physical therapy is really wearing her out, in a good way.  I will blog more later on the people we have met at the rehab center (yes, it is more of a nursing home, with a section of rooms for rehab/medical patients --- but rehab center just sounds so much better!)

Lisa has been sleeping quite a bit, but visitors are SO welcome!  Barbara, please go up anytime, she would LOVE to see you!!  She is at dialysis on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings. Things have not changed since we shared a room and a double bed many years ago, she sleeps so soundly that you can hardly wake her up.  So for those that do go and see her, don't worry if it looks like she is comatose... that's her interpretation of sleeping beauty.  

I am in Boulder, CO today visiting friends and will be home on Sunday.  

Thanks for your prayers!

The Road to Recovery

The road to recovery is filled with lots of twists and turns, highs and lows. Today Lisa was moved to the Hurstbourne Care Center (on Stonybrook, off Taylorsville Rd.) I am not sure how to classify today. It was a twist that we haven't experienced before, Lisa not being completely independent. While it was a high for us that she was well enough to be discharged from the hospital, it was a low for Lisa that she didn't get to go home.

She has a roomate, Joan. Her side of the room is completely fixed up - she has 'nested,' complete with flat screen tv, mini fridge, etc. Mom is going to watch Graylen tomorrow while Jen and I give her side of the room some personality and home-like touches. We don't want to give her the sense that it is her new home, just some things that will make it easier to be there.

We will know more tomorrow about how long she might need to be there. Please pray that she will not be discouraged, her therapy tomorrow will give her hope of getting stronger and healthier.

Thanks again for praying for her!

Hospital Decor

Well, today Lisa was feeling well enough for she, Jen and I to talk decorating ideas.  I think that someone should hire the sisters three for upgrading their hospitals to a more cheery environment.  Jen says that yellow rooms would make the patients feel more happy.  Lisa said that the gray tones just make her feel blah and like she wants to take a nap.  Hey, wait a minute. Do you think that hospital employees lobbied for a color that would make their day 'nurse button' free?  Hmmm, something to think about.  

I could offer some feedback on what other family members say at the vending machines ... one day I sat camped out by the coke/snack machines.  First, they need a change machine somewhere - people sometimes only have 5 or 10 dollar bills.  Well, I guess they don't really want $5 in quarters, but.. well - they complained about it.  Luckily, I was packing change and helped a few folks out.  $1 for peanuts or a twix seemed to be an outrage many.  I was happy that they offered both bottles and can options in the coke machine.  I generally hate drinking from a bottle - cans are the way to go!  

Lisa looked really good today.  She ate half of a 4 cheese souffle from Panera - that is one of her favs, although I think it doesn't look too tasty.  She didn't feel nauseous after she ate, that's progress.  Maybe her stomach stuff is working itself out.  We still need to figure out what they are going to do about her thyroid.  They are having to give her blood thinner medicine for her blood clot - so I bet they can't take the tumor out until after her clot is resolved.  

Maybe she will be on her way to a rehab facility this week even.  I would love for her to get stronger and feel more like her old self. I think part of her depression lately is because she has felt so weak that she doesn't want to get off the couch.  She is a great cook and for the longest time has not felt like even fixing anything - so I am praying that she will have good physical therapists that will encourage, challenge and inspire her to focus on what she "can'' do.

I am also praying she will be open to some kind of counseling. I don't even know how that would work, but I think that after 10 years of chronic health problems and the loss of Pam it is a lot for her to work through on her own.  Will you pray about that?

Thanks for checking our blog - and thanks for praying for our family!

Movin' Up

Lisa moved up last night to the 5th floor...no more ICU!  YEA!   

She seems to be feeling better, although really weak and tired.  She was on dialysis this morning so there was very little room for visitors - so we will go up this afternoon.  She has a roommate and said that she snored ALL night!  :-(   

It looks like when she is finally released that she will go to a rehab facility before getting home.  She is so weak that someone would have to be with her all the time - she is way to independent for that!  I was glad that she seemed to 'want' to do that.

Dr. Saad will be back on Monday so we will get a better feel for where she is medically when he sees her.  The two big things are her stomach and thyroid.  The list has dramatically dwindled - hooray!

Thanks for your prayers!

Wednesday

We are becoming so familiar with Baptist East that we can give directions, make recommendations at the little cafe, show people how to 'buzz in' to ICU and know the routines of the doctors and nurses.  We have watched families happy transitions to regular rooms and the sadness of saying goodbye.  I wonder how doctors and nurses deal with people in such dire situations - not to mention their families, which you see the best and worst sides of, day in and day out.

Ilka, Lisa's day nurse is great.  She got Lisa into a chair today and she even ate a bit more.  There is something going on with her breathing and she had chills and sweats at different points in the day.  They said she may get moved to a regular room in the next day or two - her blood pressure is stable and her vital signs are also stable; but to us, she still looks like she needs more personalized care.  Physical therapy came today and tried to get her to walk a little bit and she just couldn't.  That was really discouraging to her.

Dr. Saad is at Suburban this week and won't be back until Monday.  His group is good, so she is getting good care - but we have such a comfort level with him, that we really wished he were the one checking her this week.  He will be back on Monday and we are really looking forward to that .. I hope he has enjoyed the break! :-)

We are praying that as the doctors see her in the morning, they can assess her correctly, that we will be able describe how we see her and ask good questions and that Lisa will have the ability to sit up longer and eat more.  It is scary to see how thin she has gotten.

Thanks for your prayers!

Tuesday

It is past the 2 week mark that Lisa has been in the hospital. 2 hospitals and 2 weeks later, she is still in ICU. She was pretty weak yesterday and her blood pressure still refuses to cooperate. She did well through dialysis, but afterwards was having some breathing issues. They did an x-ray of her chest and it all looked ok, so they thought it was maybe anxiety.

She is still not able to eat much, so she looks more and more thin. Will you pray that she will have an appetite and can keep what she is allowed to eat, down.

Thanks!

Monday

Yesterday morning Lisa was more like herself than she has been in 2 weeks. She is on a clear liquid diet, her NG tube is out and she was only running a very low temperature. Her blood pressure is still up and down a little, so they are having to supplement with iv medicine to get it down from time to time, but she is mostly on oral medications now.

She was complaining that her legs hurt, sometimes after dialysis they bother her, but the nurse had them checked for blood clots and sure enough...she had one! They are giving her medicine for that and also upped her pain medicine a bit.

Long hospital stays are not new to Lisa, but it never gets easy.

Thanks for your prayers!