Post-Op Day 2 Pics

Well, it looks like I spoke too soon.

She has been febrile all day, and her temp starting climbing in the late afternoon.  That's not such a big deal in itself, but she definitely was miserable.  And that was the true change.  She stopped fighting everything and lost her spunk.  Which is never a good thing.  And it's weird - it didn't even spike that high - 102, I think.  She's had way higher fevers with less impact on her spirit.  But her skin was on fire and she got really, really sleepy and stopped watching tv and didn't even want to look at the VECTA distraction machine.  And she loved it the last time she was in (for her heart cath last month).  The VECTA's in the background:

Her nurse was great and was very concerned for her - health-wise and comfort-wise.  So she put a bag of ice in a towel and put in under Harlie's back to help cool her off.  Then she put cool, wet washcloths on her head and arms.  And the whole time she was messing with her doing that, Harlie didn't move a muscle!  That is SO not like her!

After I updated the blog this afternoon, the docs came by to check on her.  They said her work of breathing was looking worse.  And they took more x-rays.  Her left lung looks hazy, so they are a little concerned about that.  So, they were thinking that they would put her back on CPAP for the night to give her a little break and let her rest, and help that left lung inflate more fully.

She also lost her IVs today, which is unfortunate.  They still have access through some lines that go into her heart, but I don't think those are ideal for everything.  And I think they want to pull them pretty soon.  So, they are going to have to get another one tomorrow.  Since she was feeling crummy and it isn't critical to have that access now, they are going to deal with it tomorrow.  And that will not be fun, let me tell you.

I forgot to tell you that she has been retching a lot today.  She was doing it a ton this morning, so they gave her some Zofran and that helped a lot.  By the late afternoon, when it was time for the next dose, she started retching again.  At least the Zofran seems to work on her.

Oh, and a trach care/wound care nurse came by to check on her today, too.  They were getting a little concerned about the amount of blood coming from her trach.  And the top of the dressing at the stoma/chest incision line was getting more soaked with blood.  They just didn't understand where it was coming from.  So, they got her cleaned up a little to see what was going on underneath.  There was only a very tiny little cut near the stoma, which we're thinking was where the intubation tube was sutured.  Hopefully that will heal pretty quickly.

So, we'll see how she does throughout the night.  Hopefully after a few doses of the antibiotic, she will feel better.  At this point, I doubt she'll get moved to the floor tomorrow.

So, please keep those thoughts and prayers coming!
Thank you so much!
~Christy