Monday, September 5, 2016

Spring/Summer Hospital Stay Day 17

June 2, 2016

achieved two major milestones today. First, with the assistance of two very nice physical therapists, she rose up out of bed and went for a brief walk. When asked how she felt afterwards she commented that she experienced moderate pain outward bound but only minor pains on the way back. She was instructed to continue this exercise at least two times a day for the next couple of days.
The second major milestone achieved today occurred this evening when she was able to urinate on her own without the use of a catheter. This may not seem like an important achievement but when urine has been mechanically removed from the body for multiple days it's important to demonstrate the bladder muscles can function on their own without assistance.
Her condition, in general, continues to improve.
1. Rate of respiration is normal with the use of supplemental Oxygen. She has been instructed to take deep breaths into a mechanical device called a spirometer to help strengthen her lungs. Concurrently with this action doctors are slowly reducing the amount of Oxygen being used to supplement her breathing. So far she has responded well to the reduced Oxygen flow.
2. Blood pressure is consistently within her normal range of 135/82
3. Pulse is a bit high ranging in the low to mid 90's but that can be expected from a person who has been in the hospital for an extended period of time.
4. Temperature continues to fluctuate in and out of normal range. (98.6 to 101). Tylenol is being administered routinely to manage this problem. Fevers are most likely a symptom of pneumonia.
5. Headaches have subsided completely.
6. Bouts of nausea are few and far between but when experienced they are quickly treated by administering Zofran.
7. Creatinine value was reported to be 1.5 down from the 2 that was reported yesterday. This improvement is reflective of the kidneys in repair.
8. She has expressed a number of times her urge to eat however she has been slow to act on that urge. In her defense the food served in the hospital is not the right consistency or amount for a person who has not had food in three days. Today's nutrition included a half of a fruit cup and maybe a few bites of yogurt that I bought for her at a local convenience store. In comparison the hospital served a heavy portion of pasta which was generally not appealing to a body that has not digested food in three days.
9. The most recent X-ray of the lungs shows that the antibiotic, Levaquin, is successfully treating the pneumonia.
The targets are:
1. Transition from ICU to the general care unit tomorrow.
2. Complete discharge from the hospital on Saturday just prior our son's graduation.
Hitting these targets is completely dependent on how willing Angela is to work hard. If she takes a disciplined approach to her breathing and walking exercises the door will be wide open if not it will be slammed shut. Having observed how hard Angela has worked to get to this point I have no doubt that her butt will be planted in one of those seats in the Carpenter Center on Saturday.
#heartofalion

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