I continue to be amazed at her recovery.
Yesterday they had her up, walking and doing some arm and leg exercises. She's eating solid food, and they believe they'll be able to take her fully off oxygen before she goes home!
There's still a pretty good chance she'll need a pacemaker before she goes home as the surgery often damages some of the nerves that control the heart rhythm.
The Docs, nurses and respiratory folks have all expressed their surprise at not only how well she’s recovering, but at how quickly she’s responding as well.
This cardiac unit is a real active place. There hasn’t been a bed empty for more than a few hours all week. I’ve met the family of the guy that was the emergency that delayed my Mom’s surgery on Tuesday. According to them, the Doc told them had he gotten there even an hour later he would have died. We’ve also talked with the family of a local firefighter. He’s been in the OR three times this week, but as of last night he’s finally on the upswing.
The personal side of all of this has also been pretty amazing. All of the folks hanging out in the visitor center have taken time to listen to our stories, and to tell us theirs. Each day when we all arrive at 11:00am for the start of visiting hours it’s like we’ve been friends for years.
Another aspect of the process here at St. Elizabeth’s hospital, in the Cardiac Care Unit is that each patient gets a specific nurse assigned to them for the entire shift. There are other aides, professionals from other areas and so on who also care for the patient, but, that one nurse is the primary care giver, and everything goes through them.
Again, I can’t tell you how much each of your comments, well wishes, thought and prayers have meant. I’m truly honored to have folks like you as friends and readers!
6 comments:
Excellent news. Well, hey, maybe our prayers and well wishes are working, eh? :)
It's so good that you're finding such wonderful service, and such a positive environment. So great for healing, and for everyone to be able to keep spirits up.
May it continue.
Bill,
It's amazing how quickly they have the patients "up and moving around" after surgury.
I'm glad that your mom is doing so well. Hope it continues this way.
Oh, it looks like I missed out on most of this story.
It's good that your mom is doing better. Hopefully she will be able to leave soon. I always remain pretty uneasy when of the older people in my family gets sent to the hospitol until they get to go home.
Bill,
I'm so happy to hear that her recovery is continuing so well! I'm so happy for her, and you and yours.
It's truly amazing what today's medical technology can do. Andnd, of course, we can't forget about the power of prayer! :-)
Liz
Hi Bill. It's so nice to see that your mom is recovering well. It's truly amazing at how resilient people can be with the help and support of family and friends that care.
Best wishes!
Spirit - They're all working for sure!! I was very nicely surprised at the level of care for sure!
Firehawk - I actually learned that they get folks up and around so quickly because of what was learned from the space program.
I turns out that the heart needs to work against gravity to retain it's strength. It also loses strength quickly during periods of inactivity.
Your hopes echo mine.
Trevor - Thanks! You're not alone in that fear.
I think each trip to the hospital reminds us how fragile life is, and how loved ones can be taken from us, or us from them, at any moment.
Liz - Medical technology is only half the battle, the rest is up to the person and their ability to stay positive.
In her case especially, knowing folks were praying for, and thinking about, her, played a big part as well.
dahlia - Her resilience has always amazed me. She's never been a 'quitter'... and the words "I can't" simply aren't in her vocabulary.
I do know though, that being surrounded by her husband and family helped her 'tough out' the more difficult moments.
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