Hopefully, the IV morphine will get turned off tonight sometime. Vivian is resting nicely right now. We went out for dinner at Appleby's this evening and when we returned, the isolation was discontinued. She tested negative for viral, but her fever is still a mystery. I am so hoping she will turn a good corner and recover from this starting with a good night. Anyway, we also learned they do need to decrease her oral meds too in order to get off the vent. We are still moving in that direction. It's nice she got the Foley (urine cath) out today at noon. We anticipate each tube removal because it certainly does not happen quickly!
Tonight we went up to the top floor rooftop patio and watched the fireworks. They were nice but too far away to hear the crackles or booms. Tonight is also the last night for Ken and the boys. They will return home tomorrow sometime. Ken needs to get into work Wed, Thurs, and Fri. And, it looks that we will be in the PICU through next weekend. Lord, give me strength for each day as I write this. Right now it seems like a long time from now.
Our two PICU "neighbors" have their kids off the vent now, and they are holding their little ones. We are thrilled for them. And, I am confident Vivian is on God's timing, and I keep praying she will conquer this obstacle and continue to heal. It's hard though that I'm not tall enough to lean over and give Vivian a kiss on her forehead or cheek. I kiss her leg or foot to say goodnight. Speaking of, I am exhausted and will turn in for the night. Love, Keri
P.S. If any of you have any favorite bible verses/passages that you go to for strength, patience, comfort, please email them to me at cmc-keri@mchsi.com. I would love to read through them and be thinking of them through our days here.
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3:4-5
Monday, July 4, 2011
One Step Back--Temporary Isolation
Let's see...two of the IV sedation meds Dex and Versed are getting turned off now, and the IV morphine is going from 20 to 10. The oxygen they have been giving her..we were at 30 but had to go back up to 60 and now she is down to 40%. They are taking out the urine catheter today and will just weigh her diapers. One less place for an infection source.
Vivian has had a temperature over the last few days, and the doctors are trying to find the source of that. Cultures have been drawn and are checked over multiple days to see if there is anything growing. Vivian's CO2 has been up higher than desired too. It's down from 60 to 57% now. The preferred range is 35 to 50%. They also do other preventative measures like everyone gowning up before coming into Vivian's room, and our nurse is changing all the drips for precaution.
I guess a lot of times it is two steps forward and one step back. This is a one step back day in terms of getting her breathing vent off. It's not going to be considered for today or tomorrow now. Ugh, how frustrating. It is suspected that she could have a little respirator-induced pneumonia or a virus which is not uncommon for being on the vent for this long. But, all her readings otherwise are doing well. She is urinating and having bowel movements. Her O2 sats are at 80%.
She spent a lot of time awake and shifting around through the night. Then she would drift off for a bit and pop awake again. She kept the night nurse busy coming in to scoot her up in bed, and it wouldn't be long before Vivian was scooting around again. She's actually trying to turn over so she can get up--I can tell by her movements. All the moving around is a good thing though.
What a long haul for Vivian this has been. Please keep the prayers coming. Thanks! Love, Keri
Vivian has had a temperature over the last few days, and the doctors are trying to find the source of that. Cultures have been drawn and are checked over multiple days to see if there is anything growing. Vivian's CO2 has been up higher than desired too. It's down from 60 to 57% now. The preferred range is 35 to 50%. They also do other preventative measures like everyone gowning up before coming into Vivian's room, and our nurse is changing all the drips for precaution.
I guess a lot of times it is two steps forward and one step back. This is a one step back day in terms of getting her breathing vent off. It's not going to be considered for today or tomorrow now. Ugh, how frustrating. It is suspected that she could have a little respirator-induced pneumonia or a virus which is not uncommon for being on the vent for this long. But, all her readings otherwise are doing well. She is urinating and having bowel movements. Her O2 sats are at 80%.
She spent a lot of time awake and shifting around through the night. Then she would drift off for a bit and pop awake again. She kept the night nurse busy coming in to scoot her up in bed, and it wouldn't be long before Vivian was scooting around again. She's actually trying to turn over so she can get up--I can tell by her movements. All the moving around is a good thing though.
What a long haul for Vivian this has been. Please keep the prayers coming. Thanks! Love, Keri
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Wiggle Worm
They turned down Vivian's two IV meds today from 30 to 20. The doctor was just by and wanted to turn down again, but the nurse requested to hold off until her blood gas results come back. They also turned her third IV med Dexotomonine (sp?) down from 0.5 to 0.25 today. This has been kinda quick in coming down on the IV meds, but Vivian is doing alright so far with it. They can give her extra oral doses if she needs.
Vivian also had two pressure trials today. One was for an hour, and she was successful. That means she took her own breaths that were also deep enough to be productive. During the trial the ventilator acts as a back-up and would take over should she have a problem or struggle or tire out. The second trial was started this evening at 8:15pm and then stopped because Vivian was having some of her usual things done like oral care and tube stripping and suctioning, and she gets pretty mad and messes up the readings.
With her meds reduced, Vivian has become quite a wiggle worm today. I mean really moving her body around and opening and closing her mouth to bite the breathing tube. She scoots down the bed too with the wiggling. And, today she is definitely looking around for us and at everything in the room. At one point Isaac started crying over something and Vivian started crying too (without sound).
We enjoyed lots of company today, and we thank you all for the fellowship.
Vivian also had two pressure trials today. One was for an hour, and she was successful. That means she took her own breaths that were also deep enough to be productive. During the trial the ventilator acts as a back-up and would take over should she have a problem or struggle or tire out. The second trial was started this evening at 8:15pm and then stopped because Vivian was having some of her usual things done like oral care and tube stripping and suctioning, and she gets pretty mad and messes up the readings.
With her meds reduced, Vivian has become quite a wiggle worm today. I mean really moving her body around and opening and closing her mouth to bite the breathing tube. She scoots down the bed too with the wiggling. And, today she is definitely looking around for us and at everything in the room. At one point Isaac started crying over something and Vivian started crying too (without sound).
We enjoyed lots of company today, and we thank you all for the fellowship.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Just A Quick Update
July 2, 2011 almost 11pm
They turned down Vivian's IV meds from 40 to 30 just shortly ago. And, they turned her breathing rate on the vent down from 15 to 10. She is still doing well. I think they will leave her to rest comfortably for the rest of the night. Of course, I say that, but the nurse still comes in to "strip her tubes" periodically, and examine her, do her oral care, and shift her around in bed, etc. She got yet another bath this morning too.
I think I will turn in for the night. Love, Keri
They turned down Vivian's IV meds from 40 to 30 just shortly ago. And, they turned her breathing rate on the vent down from 15 to 10. She is still doing well. I think they will leave her to rest comfortably for the rest of the night. Of course, I say that, but the nurse still comes in to "strip her tubes" periodically, and examine her, do her oral care, and shift her around in bed, etc. She got yet another bath this morning too.
I think I will turn in for the night. Love, Keri
Weaning Off Some Meds
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Vivian is doing very well today and resting comfortably. They have weaned two of her IV drugs (Morphine and Versed) from 80 to 60 and now to 40. The third one they won't do anything with until tomorrow. They have also turned the vent rate down so that her body is doing more of the work for breathing. So, I have seen glimpses of Vivian today, even as I write this post. She opened her eyes and turned her head and looked at me or the machines behind me. She has moved her arms and legs around too. So this is exciting to see! They would like her to move around a bit to help get the fluid moved out of her body. That's another factor determining when she can get her breathing tube out.
We took the boys on the cambus downtown to the Jazz Festival for a little bit and had lunch down there. It was nice to get out. We were gone about 3 hours.
Vivian is doing very well today and resting comfortably. They have weaned two of her IV drugs (Morphine and Versed) from 80 to 60 and now to 40. The third one they won't do anything with until tomorrow. They have also turned the vent rate down so that her body is doing more of the work for breathing. So, I have seen glimpses of Vivian today, even as I write this post. She opened her eyes and turned her head and looked at me or the machines behind me. She has moved her arms and legs around too. So this is exciting to see! They would like her to move around a bit to help get the fluid moved out of her body. That's another factor determining when she can get her breathing tube out.
We took the boys on the cambus downtown to the Jazz Festival for a little bit and had lunch down there. It was nice to get out. We were gone about 3 hours.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Our Little Pink Princess
Here's a photo of little Vivian amongst all her medical machines.
Daddy Lovin' His Little Girl
Mommy found a little tiara for Vivian. She has made quite the cute impression all day bringing smiles and giggles to all the doctors and medical staff.
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Day 9 in PICU, Day 8 Post-Op
July 1, 2011
Today would have been my mom's birthday, so Happy Birthday in Heaven Mom!
Vivian got another refreshing sponge bath this morning and her bedding changed. Her plan today is to start the oral medicines in her TP tube. Her intestines are still kind of sleepy, so we'll see how it goes. I guess these oral meds are the tapers that will help her come off the IV narcotics. One of the three is oral morphine, but she can go to a regular floor with the oral meds, not the IV drugs.
Some things I say probably contradict what I write in an earlier post, but it is the flow of days, and they make changes each day or at different times. The guess right now is Vivian coming off the breathing vent somewhere between next Monday and Wednesday.
Sorry I haven't mentioned about Vivian herself. She does open her eyes and look around, but she's so groggy that takes a lot of effort. She raises her arms a little, wiggles her toes, and once in a while will try to shift her torso. I can only imagine the grand amount of effort this takes because of the sedation, the weakness of not using muscles in 8 days and not having hardly any calories for energy. Sometimes she gets upset and cries which I think I described earlier as an expression on her face and her little body shakes but no sound. I have her Elmo doll her which makes noise with talk and laugh. I have to keep the toy quiet because Vivian gets upset. It's her favorite, and she would probably like to play with it.
Thanks so much for your continued prayers. Several people have had trouble posting comments to the blog. I don't know what I can do to fix it, but please feel free to email me. I check my email several times daily.
Love, Keri
Ken and our boys are coming this morning, and he is bringing our USB cable, so we can upload more photos. Last time we borrowed one from the library, but they have just one.
I guess it is really hot outside. The PICU in particular is kept fairly cool, and I've adjusted to that. I get warm now even going to other floors in the hospital.
Today would have been my mom's birthday, so Happy Birthday in Heaven Mom!
Vivian got another refreshing sponge bath this morning and her bedding changed. Her plan today is to start the oral medicines in her TP tube. Her intestines are still kind of sleepy, so we'll see how it goes. I guess these oral meds are the tapers that will help her come off the IV narcotics. One of the three is oral morphine, but she can go to a regular floor with the oral meds, not the IV drugs.
Some things I say probably contradict what I write in an earlier post, but it is the flow of days, and they make changes each day or at different times. The guess right now is Vivian coming off the breathing vent somewhere between next Monday and Wednesday.
Sorry I haven't mentioned about Vivian herself. She does open her eyes and look around, but she's so groggy that takes a lot of effort. She raises her arms a little, wiggles her toes, and once in a while will try to shift her torso. I can only imagine the grand amount of effort this takes because of the sedation, the weakness of not using muscles in 8 days and not having hardly any calories for energy. Sometimes she gets upset and cries which I think I described earlier as an expression on her face and her little body shakes but no sound. I have her Elmo doll her which makes noise with talk and laugh. I have to keep the toy quiet because Vivian gets upset. It's her favorite, and she would probably like to play with it.
Thanks so much for your continued prayers. Several people have had trouble posting comments to the blog. I don't know what I can do to fix it, but please feel free to email me. I check my email several times daily.
Love, Keri
Ken and our boys are coming this morning, and he is bringing our USB cable, so we can upload more photos. Last time we borrowed one from the library, but they have just one.
I guess it is really hot outside. The PICU in particular is kept fairly cool, and I've adjusted to that. I get warm now even going to other floors in the hospital.
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