Vivian has been busy today. She got her PIC line put in her leg this morning. The procedure took a little over an hour, and she got her EJ line out of her central vein in her neck. They gave her all new drip lines. Directly after that our wonderful cardiac nurse practicioner Tina arrived and removed Vivian's surgical dressing from her chest closure. It's now open to the air for healing. She also removed ONE of the three chest tubes--this one was in the sac around the heart. (The other two go to the lungs).
Also, I didn't realize that yesterday Vivian was taken off two of three of her blood pressure meds and is tolerating that well. She remains on one called Norepi. They are forecasting taking her off the breathing vent in 3 or 4 days.
So...this has been a good day so far! Positive direction for Vivian. Her IV pole has three pump stations on it instead of four so that looks like a step in the right direction.
That's all for now. Ken and our boys are at home today catching up chores and household needs.
Love, Keri
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
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Resting and Healing
Today has been a day of resting and healing like the title says. Vivian did get her TP tube in. It took three tries and using a smaller tube to get it to work. Now she is getting feedings that put formula right into her small intestine. They have to start very slow, so Vivian gets a half teaspoon every eight hours.
She also had an EKG of her heart today, and they were studying her for awhile. They are looking for any narrowing of her arteries along the suture lines. I'm not sure how often they will do these, but it could mean she would need a heart catheterization while here.
Overall, Vivian is doing well. There's things here and there that get out of whack and need to be adjusted. She just has a long road to go. It's hard to get a feel for that without being here, but she's been on strong narcotics for a week now, blood pressure meds, supplimental oxygen and nitric oxide in her vent. So, keeping her balanced and weaning her and making sure her heart responds well is not just a straightforward path.
As for us we miss Vivian's personality we haven't seen for a week. I sing and read and talk to Vivian, and she does know we are here. I comfort her when she "cries" which she does by making a cry-face and shaking her body. However, I haven't changed a diaper in a week or fed her meals. And, with her sedated, I have freedom to come and go from the room. As Vivian gets better, my end of supervision and care will greatly increase. The one-to-one nursing care round the clock is so nice that I better start preparing now for the "shock" of the regular peds floor!
Tomorrow I am thinking about taking a bus over to the Walmart to do a little grocery shopping and utilize the hospital refrigerators since the cafeteria is getting so expensive.
Thank you for your continued prayers and support. Love, Keri
She also had an EKG of her heart today, and they were studying her for awhile. They are looking for any narrowing of her arteries along the suture lines. I'm not sure how often they will do these, but it could mean she would need a heart catheterization while here.
Overall, Vivian is doing well. There's things here and there that get out of whack and need to be adjusted. She just has a long road to go. It's hard to get a feel for that without being here, but she's been on strong narcotics for a week now, blood pressure meds, supplimental oxygen and nitric oxide in her vent. So, keeping her balanced and weaning her and making sure her heart responds well is not just a straightforward path.
As for us we miss Vivian's personality we haven't seen for a week. I sing and read and talk to Vivian, and she does know we are here. I comfort her when she "cries" which she does by making a cry-face and shaking her body. However, I haven't changed a diaper in a week or fed her meals. And, with her sedated, I have freedom to come and go from the room. As Vivian gets better, my end of supervision and care will greatly increase. The one-to-one nursing care round the clock is so nice that I better start preparing now for the "shock" of the regular peds floor!
Tomorrow I am thinking about taking a bus over to the Walmart to do a little grocery shopping and utilize the hospital refrigerators since the cafeteria is getting so expensive.
Thank you for your continued prayers and support. Love, Keri
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
An Evening at the Spa
Okay, so not exactly what one would think. Our night nurse Laura spent a couple hours giving Vivian a much-needed sponge bath and washed her hair too. She changed Vivian's patches around and put ointments on to protect her skin abrasions and chapped areas. Vivian apparently enjoyed the scalp massage because she relaxed into it and dropped her blood pressure a few points. Nurse Laura changed Vivian's bedding and shifted her to a new position.
So, Vivian should be ready for another resful night. The next big milestone is going to be working her medications down and getting her ready to prove she doesn't need so much oxygen and nitric oxide to keep her pulmonary arteries relaxed and blood flowing.
Oh and we are on hospital schedule too, so things don't always happen when they say. They did not do the line replacements today. That goes on the list for tomorrow.
Funny story from last night...Our night nurse-the same one--put Vivian's Elmo doll in her hand and its body and head sort of rested against Vivian's torso. Well, this toy normally opens its mouth when you shake him and he talks or makes noises. So the respiratory therapist comes in to check Vivian's breathing. Every time Vivian takes a breath, Elmo's mouth opens just slightly and closes again. It's not enough to trigger the classic Elmo noises, but it was hilarious because it looked like Elmo was breathing right along with Vivian. It surprised the therapist because she couldn't figure out if the toy was turned on and mimicking Vivian's breathing or what!
Finally, I cut short on my update earlier, but we enjoyed company from a friend from church and from Ken's sister Denise and husband Todd and their kids Zach and Kate. We shared lunch together and visited and took all our active boys to a park near by for a couple hours. A fun time had by all.
We are forcasting a couple more weeks in the hospital. I am wondering if our hospital stay will be the same or longer than our travel to China?
By the way, today when the nurse was cleaning out Vivian's mouth earlier today, she was a bit awake and pursed her cute little lips together to refuse that when the nurse tried to go in a second time. It touched my heart to see a glimpse of our sweet little Vivian.
I'm off to bed now. Ken and the boys are spending the night again here in a "hotel-style" room here in the hospital available to families for a small fee. I hope these posts are keeping folks updated. I'm better at writing a conversational letter to a specific person rather than a message into cyberspace. Love, Keri
So, Vivian should be ready for another resful night. The next big milestone is going to be working her medications down and getting her ready to prove she doesn't need so much oxygen and nitric oxide to keep her pulmonary arteries relaxed and blood flowing.
Oh and we are on hospital schedule too, so things don't always happen when they say. They did not do the line replacements today. That goes on the list for tomorrow.
Funny story from last night...Our night nurse-the same one--put Vivian's Elmo doll in her hand and its body and head sort of rested against Vivian's torso. Well, this toy normally opens its mouth when you shake him and he talks or makes noises. So the respiratory therapist comes in to check Vivian's breathing. Every time Vivian takes a breath, Elmo's mouth opens just slightly and closes again. It's not enough to trigger the classic Elmo noises, but it was hilarious because it looked like Elmo was breathing right along with Vivian. It surprised the therapist because she couldn't figure out if the toy was turned on and mimicking Vivian's breathing or what!
Finally, I cut short on my update earlier, but we enjoyed company from a friend from church and from Ken's sister Denise and husband Todd and their kids Zach and Kate. We shared lunch together and visited and took all our active boys to a park near by for a couple hours. A fun time had by all.
We are forcasting a couple more weeks in the hospital. I am wondering if our hospital stay will be the same or longer than our travel to China?
By the way, today when the nurse was cleaning out Vivian's mouth earlier today, she was a bit awake and pursed her cute little lips together to refuse that when the nurse tried to go in a second time. It touched my heart to see a glimpse of our sweet little Vivian.
I'm off to bed now. Ken and the boys are spending the night again here in a "hotel-style" room here in the hospital available to families for a small fee. I hope these posts are keeping folks updated. I'm better at writing a conversational letter to a specific person rather than a message into cyberspace. Love, Keri
Productive Morning
Good morning,
Well, Vivian had a very good night last night. It was quiet which was good for both Vivian and me. It can get a little nerve-wracking for mom too, and it did yesterday afternoon when I left for an hour and returned and Vivian was having blood pressure issues.
This morning at 8:15am Dr. Davis was here to close Vivian's chest. She tolerated the procedure very well. In other words her heart handled the new and normal pressure of a closed sternum!
She has to get a couple of line replacements today and otherwise just rest. We will be in the PICU for another week to two weeks. I am hoping the majority of our stay will be the PICU then, and a short stay on a regular floor til we go home. Like they say, we are all working on Vivian's time schedule--she's in charge!
We are enjoying a visit from our nephew Zach today too!
Thank you for your prayers.
Well, Vivian had a very good night last night. It was quiet which was good for both Vivian and me. It can get a little nerve-wracking for mom too, and it did yesterday afternoon when I left for an hour and returned and Vivian was having blood pressure issues.
This morning at 8:15am Dr. Davis was here to close Vivian's chest. She tolerated the procedure very well. In other words her heart handled the new and normal pressure of a closed sternum!
She has to get a couple of line replacements today and otherwise just rest. We will be in the PICU for another week to two weeks. I am hoping the majority of our stay will be the PICU then, and a short stay on a regular floor til we go home. Like they say, we are all working on Vivian's time schedule--she's in charge!
We are enjoying a visit from our nephew Zach today too!
Thank you for your prayers.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Change of Plans...
We had been waiting for Vivian's surgeon to complete another case today, and during that wait, Vivian had an episode with her blood pressure being unstable while they were working on weaning from meds and giving other meds. She is a tricky girl to work with.
Between those things, the small surgery to close her chest is planned for tomorrow morning after rounds. So the goal is for Vivian to have a quiet, restful night.
Love,
Keri
Between those things, the small surgery to close her chest is planned for tomorrow morning after rounds. So the goal is for Vivian to have a quiet, restful night.
Love,
Keri
Busy Day for Vivian
Monday, June 27, 2011
Vivian had another restful night with just one blood pressure spike around midnight. The spike means that she was "awake" under her sedatives and not happy about things. No surprise there, she has something or another inserted in every orifice and every limb and her torso!
It's already 11:20am now. In a few minutes Vivian will get a TP tube which goes from the nose through tummy into small intestine. This is a nice option to be able to start giving Vivian some formula which will go directly into her small intestine that she can digest, and there are no worries about her aspirating while on the breathing tube.
And the Big News! After lunch Dr. Davis will come up to her room here and close her chest! Vivian looks really good and is tolerating being shifted around. I am not sure how long that surgery will take, but it also will be done here in the room. She will have to recover a bit after that i.e. her blood pressure returning to normal, etc.
And, the kidney doctors have been in to check on Vivian just a few minutes ago. They are very, very pleased with her kidney function resuming so well because they did suffer with the heart surgery.
Lastly, Vivian has woken up several times today and maintained her blood pressure instead of it spiking which means she is waking up a bit but is not "freaking out" about her situation. That is ideal so she can wake and drift back into sleep while remaining calm.
Please pray for Vivian's chest closure to go well and her body, specifically her heart to tolerate the new and normal pressure. Love, Keri
Vivian had another restful night with just one blood pressure spike around midnight. The spike means that she was "awake" under her sedatives and not happy about things. No surprise there, she has something or another inserted in every orifice and every limb and her torso!
It's already 11:20am now. In a few minutes Vivian will get a TP tube which goes from the nose through tummy into small intestine. This is a nice option to be able to start giving Vivian some formula which will go directly into her small intestine that she can digest, and there are no worries about her aspirating while on the breathing tube.
And the Big News! After lunch Dr. Davis will come up to her room here and close her chest! Vivian looks really good and is tolerating being shifted around. I am not sure how long that surgery will take, but it also will be done here in the room. She will have to recover a bit after that i.e. her blood pressure returning to normal, etc.
And, the kidney doctors have been in to check on Vivian just a few minutes ago. They are very, very pleased with her kidney function resuming so well because they did suffer with the heart surgery.
Lastly, Vivian has woken up several times today and maintained her blood pressure instead of it spiking which means she is waking up a bit but is not "freaking out" about her situation. That is ideal so she can wake and drift back into sleep while remaining calm.
Please pray for Vivian's chest closure to go well and her body, specifically her heart to tolerate the new and normal pressure. Love, Keri
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Having a good and restful day...
2pm Sunday, June 26th
Vivian is doing nicely again today. From morning rounds they said her kidneys are functioning well enough that no other intervention is needed besides the tube that was inserted yesterday. Her heart rhythm is still working to get to a normal timing. Her chest is still open, so I can see part of her heart muscle beating and the one of the patches that was done in her repair. After several days to acclimate to this site, when I look at it now, I am so thankful God created our amazing bodies and knit them together. Tomorrow Dr. Davis will be by to check Vivian's chest and see how close it will be to being closed. Love, Keri
Vivian is doing nicely again today. From morning rounds they said her kidneys are functioning well enough that no other intervention is needed besides the tube that was inserted yesterday. Her heart rhythm is still working to get to a normal timing. Her chest is still open, so I can see part of her heart muscle beating and the one of the patches that was done in her repair. After several days to acclimate to this site, when I look at it now, I am so thankful God created our amazing bodies and knit them together. Tomorrow Dr. Davis will be by to check Vivian's chest and see how close it will be to being closed. Love, Keri
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