Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Post Op Day 1 - 1st Update

Without further ado...

Ta-Da!  Here she is in the body cast.  It's PINK!  


Didn't they do a fabulous job with her baby?  How caring of them!!!

What?  You dont' have family photos like this?  Sorry about your luck.




She's pretty swollen.  And this morning, she appears to be bruising a little on the right side of her face.


They rounded this morning.  She will remain in the CICU for at least 24 hours.  I get the impression that the cardiac docs and ortho docs haven't completely agreed on where she'll go after that.  I'm pretty sure the cardiac docs will win that one.  I didn't realize that the heart and kidney unit (HKU) have different monitors that show more stuff (cardiac stuff) than the ortho floor.  Makes sense.  So, that's why I think the cardiac docs will win.  I don't see how anyone could argue with that.

Physical therapy stopped by this morning.  Apparently they want to get her "up" today.  Yeah, right.  I, of course, sent the PT away for now.  She's finally sleeping *comfortably* now.  The night nurse said that she had an "okay" night.  I know she has to be super tired.  And she has made it perfectly clear that she does NOT want to be touched in any way.  She doesn't care that you want to feel her pulse.  Or that you want to check her capillary refill.

I can tell you this - she needs to be cleaned.  Her trach and neck look awful.  Disgusting.  And her mouth is still so bloody.  I can't help but think that if she were more clean that she would be more comfortable.  So, when she wakes, I'll see if we can get her cleaned up a bit.

They are struggling with her fluid.  I think that all the blood loss caused a chain reaction that they haven't caught up on yet.  Everything is a balancing act, you know.

Oh, just got word that the cardiac surgeons are sending her to the HKU for sure.  Apparently what they say (meaning Dr. Jonas, her surgeon) goes - and so it will be.  I love that they are protective of their heart patients.  So, the ortho people will brief the HKU nurses on that stuff.  And we will go there tomorrow if all is well.

And another thing, last night when we got into her room for the first time, they had her arms restrained.  She did not like that.  At all.  So, I asked if we could untie the restraints.  I really think that giving her some movement will make her feel better.  She still has an arterial line in her wrist, so they were just worried that she would pull it out (that could be very dangerous) since she was so feisty.  As soon as she was untied, she brought her hands together and signed "off".  Oh, my poor sweet girl.  Then she pushed down on her body cast.  And so it begins.  I really don't think it will take her long to get that she can't take it off.  I know she'll get used to it.

After she got settled and went to sleep, Tom and I left and went to dinner.  We went to this place called Lebannese Tavern.  It is so good.  The restaurants here are so yummy.  We had a fabulous dinner (fried artichoke hearts with a butter lemon sauce, roasted garlic hummus, and whole sea bass with cous cous and grilled vegetables with a garlic, lemon and parsley sauce that was SO freaking good I could have eaten it alone).  And the most important ingredient for dinner - WINE.  Yum.

PT is here again.  Gotta go.  More later.

Thanks,
Christy

7 comments:

Heather said...

I just want to hug her. and you. the pink is adorable- good choice Christy. hope the day goes well and you can bring that beautiful baby home soon!

Donna said...

Those pictures break my heart. I know I said it yesterday, but your sense of humor (i.e, the family picture comment) and your strength is so admirable.
Sending you hugs.
XOXO

Just Diane said...

Aw, poor sweet girl! I am keeping you all in my prayers. For some reason for the past few days I am either able to read your post, or read the comments but not both together. So I couldn't comment when I read your post, or know what I was commenting about otherwise! Weird. Anyhow, I am sending you all whatever vibes you need right now.

The doll is fabulous. What a great idea.

Rebecca said...

Christy and Tom,

Thinking of you and Harley and praying for a speedy recovery. The pink cast was a great choice and I love the baby doll that matches. It always amazes me how strong and positive you are and how your choices are selfless. Your boys are going to be wonderful men oneday with such compassion and a love of life.

Susan said...

She actually looks pretty comfortable. It is great that she has one leg free and can bend the other leg at the knee. I think that will help a lot.

Ainsly signed "off" for about a week or more after getting her spica cast. I wonder if circling the date on a calendar and crossing off each day would get the idea of when it will come off across? I know how hard it is to see that pleading look in their eye.

I'm curious how the diapering is going to work since the other half of the cast is missing, but I'm sure there are ways.

I hope they keep her pain managed and she recovers quickly. Hugs.

Susan said...

And P.S. I LOVE the baby-doll cast! I so wish we'd thought to do that!

Christamae said...

(((hugs))) I hope it is a speedy recovery.

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