Post-op Day 4

Let's see... Where to begin?

Last night the team came in and said they were going to pull her leg drain and put a cast on today. So they stopped feeds and all that good stuff so she could go under light sedation for that. The plastics fellow said that they were going to leave the drain line in her neck for another day. I was kinda bummed at that because she really needs to be cleaned up and there is a piece of gauze that they think might be stuck in her incision. The gauze is officially disgusting and I would think its only a breeding ground for bacteria and infection, so I just want it gone.

Then this morning the team came in and said that they've decided she needs to go into the OR to have this done. And they can't get her on the schedule for today. So she now has an OR time of 3pm tomorrow. Which is actually good for the neck drain, because that means they could pull it and get rid of that gauze and clean her up.

Apparently the driving force of all this hoopla is her stupid freaking BAHA incision. They are trying hard to make me regret that decision. I really, really just wish they would leave it the hell alone. But they will not quit! Personally, I think the more they mess with it and poke it, the more they increase the risk of infection.

I e-mailed her ENT at home and asked her what she thought. I did not hear back from her, but instead heard from the team here that she agreed with them and said it was okay. I really would like to hear that from her myself. I don't know why she couldn't just reply to my message. Is that too much to ask?

Anyway, I'm trying to think of the positives of going back into the OR. I just hope it doesn't cause a horrible negative reaction with them draining her BAHA site. I'm just not convinced the end result is going to be any different than where we were before they ever saw it. For the record.

Her secretions are getting a little suspect. They are brownish-yellowish in color and she is uncooperative when it comes to suctioning. Which is weird because she normally asks to be suctioned. They increased her breathing treatments and gave her some saline nebs during the night (and this morning), so hopefully that will help. We're just a little nervous that all this non-movement is going to cause pneumonia. She obviously can't get up and walk around.

So, we asked about putting her in a cart and taking her somewhere. Down in the lobby they have this thing where these balls go through sort of an obstacle course. She likes watching that. So maybe just getting out of the bed might help. Of course things are never that easy...

On day 2, they took some trach secretions to culture - just to get a baseline of what she has going on (not because they suspected an infection). Pseudomonas is a bacteria that tends to colonize on/around the trach and can live there with no harm to her. However it was pseudomonas that was in her necrotic bone several years ago after her last jaw reconstruction. So, they just wanted to see what's there to make sure they have her on the right antibiotics.

But because of that, they put her on precautions with infectious disease. Which means she can't go anywhere until the cultures come back. Grrrr! So the nurse called ID to ask them what's going on with it and to ask if she can leave the room. In this case, they are playing it WAY too safe. Hopefully we'll get a favorable answer soon.

I'll have to post pictures later. I can't get them to upload right now.

So, the team just came in and solidified all the plans for tomorrow. After they left, Tom said, "So, basically she's getting the world's most expensive bath." Ha ha!

That's it for now. Thanks for checking in and continuing to keep her in your thoughts!

Much love,

Christy xoxo

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