Good things:
Caroline is no longer in the PICU and moved up to floor 7. I like it way better.
She has stopped fevering and no more Motrin around the clock
Grandma is taking good care of everyone.
I like her Dr.'s right now and they are pretty attentive and address my concerns.
Brent and I each had a pullout bed last night and slept by her side with only about 15 or so times of getting up. (She pees every half hour in a bed pan, and needs her nasal tube removed quite often to wipe her nose. I often wake to "RUNNY!")
Not so good things:
After trying twice to lower her support her numbers dropped so we haven't made any improvements since yesterday. We are back up to 50% oxygen and 6 liters of flow. Anything more than this and she needs to go back to PICU.
They took her food back away.
She is very weak and very tired, especially now she doesn't have any Motrin highs. Nothing is going to be happening quickly.
They made me nervous this morning during the Dr. rounds talking about possible secondary infections.
I have tried to stand her up a couple times now and she is not ready.
Lungs are still crackly.
It is horrible to watch her breathe, big belly breaths.
After improving Tuesday afternoon and yesterday she now seems to be holding. I want progress.
I miss my other 4 kids and wonder how much longer I am going to be away from them.
I am still wearing the clothes I put on Tuesday at 6 p.m. Other than having a tooth brush to keep my teeth clean I am without options as I am stuck here. But honestly I feel great and a shower is not a big concern right now.
I just thought I would share a little bit about what a parent is doing while hanging out with a child with pneumonia in the hospital. Every 15 minutes when they are awake they should have PT therapy to try to work the stuff out of their lungs. This means you sit them up, get them to cough, hit on their back, and then do breathing exercises with things they can suck in on or blow out. They are weak and this is the last thing they want to do. You have to coax them by making it a game. You also remind them about how many people are praying for them and that they need to work very hard to get better.
It is hard work to be sick in the hospital. Caroline hardly gets a break. Neither do I.
Linda S. just stopped by and brought me some microwave meals. I was about to heat them up when they delivered Caroline's plate of Macaroni and cheese that never got canceled. So I ate macaroni and will have something for dinner, thanks to Linda.
Caroline wasn't really up for visitors right then and pretty much all she said to Linda was, "Did you bring me a present?"Her nurse pretty much refuses to give her pain medication because every time she asks her how she is doing she says, "Good" They either have to have a fever or say something hurts or she can't. I can't decide if she needs it or not. I miss her happy self that the Motrin brought back. I can't get a hold of Brent today as he is down at a Convention. I miss having him taking care of her and making sure she gets the care she needs.
4 comments:
Thanks for the update, Kashann. We are checking your blog several times per day, hoping for good news. I'm so glad Caroline is out of the ICU. Hopefully her oxygenation will continue to improve. You are doing a great job helping make that happen.
1) The nurse should know that irritability in a 5-year-old is a sign of pain. 2) Why no food? 3) Are they still treating her for viral and bacterial pneumonia, or did they eliminate one of these?
Our prayers are with you. Let me know if I can do anything else.
Mathew is a DR so I am going to definitely answer his questions.
She is still taking IV antibiotics.
they said she can't have food if her flow is at 6 liters because of possiblity of aspiration.
The nurse isn't a mom and definitely doesn't know my child as well as I do. I just keep trying to decide if a little medication would be better because then she will be comfortable and cooperative so she will sit up and do exercises with me. They aren't worried about cooperative just that her numbers stay okay.
What do you think? Is motrin going to help her get better for that reason.
Thanks so much Mathew for your checking in. I was thinking of calling alaska this morning. I really value your input. I had to leave to help someone pee so I forgot to mention this in my last comment.
The food thing makes sense until she is breathing a little easier. Still, how miserable! I don't know if NSAIDs will help her get better faster, although if she participates better, then it seems reasonable to assume. But it also seems that she is suffering, and if they help her be more comfortable, I would think it would be a good idea. Ask the doctors when they come in. They can at least write one-time orders once or twice a day that aren't contingent on the nurses' judgment.
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