Bad Jujus

Hi friends,

I started out my day walking through mud again, but somehow I got myself out of bed, even did a little housework (okay, I won't lie, I only cleaned out the litterbox and swept a bit), and went over to the hospital with Pam. Mom was lookin' good, her "devil horn" was out (aka her ICP monitor) which is great! The ICP numbers had been so consistently good and normal they decided it was time to take it out. However, there was a mixup with the MRI appointment (she had to get the ICP monitor out before the MRI), so she didn't get her MRI today but it will be tomorrow morning instead. So she still hasn't gotten to lose the cervical collar, but that'll come. It's a little weird not being able to stare at the ICP number all the time, but I have faith in her doctors. She has been started on two broad-spectrum antibiotics (Vancomycin and Cefazidime) as they don't know what organisms (or bad jujus) they're dealing with as far as the infection, or where it is originating. They have sent various cultures, and once they figure out the organism, they can narrow it down to an antibiotic specifically to treat that organism. So far she hadn't been symptomatically infected at all - no fevers or anything before they started the antibiotics, which is usually the first sign of infection. Hopefully this means they caught it early, and the Infectious Diseases doctor was in asking questions about her medical history and such, so they seem on top of it.

After lunch, Pam and I headed to Best Buy and as Lilly mentioned I picked up an IPod docking station so we could play mom some music. Lilly and I spent quite awhile at her bedside talking to her and to each other and playing her some music (her favorite Yo Yo Ma). She was definitely more responsive today than ever before, which was encouraging and nice to see. Her left hand has always just moved as one unit before, but today she was moving individual fingers, which was cool to see.

After dinner, I headed back to say goodnight and spend a bit more time with mom. Kari B met me at the hospital, which was very sweet and gave me the biggest hug. Lori N also stopped by with a nice treat, a few big hugs and some words of encouragement. Kari and I headed upstairs, and were hanging out with her for a bit. She wasn't doing much moving because it was right around her normal bedtime so she was sleepy. As I was touching her face, I noticed it felt really warm, but the rest of her body felt cool. I mentioned it to her nurse who agreed, and took her temp. It was 101.9, not good - here come the symptoms of infection. The nurse gave her a dose of Tylenol and we put some icepacks around her head. Kari and I got some cool washclothes and wiped her face, hands, arms and feet and just prayed for her fever to go down. Her poor cheeks and lips were so rosy, which normally would have made me happy, but it was because she was so warm. After about 30 minutes of the ice and washclothes, the nurse took her temp again and it was on its way down (100.9) thank goodness. She can only have the Tylenol every 6 hours or so, but she's already on antibiotics so not much else can be done. Her blood sugar went up some too, and at first we thought it was because her IV that she was getting the insulin drip through appeared a bit red and so we thought maybe not working so well. They switched the insulin to a different line, and rechecked the blood sugar a little while later, but it was still high, so they may have to give her a little extra insulin to get it back under control.

Let me tell you, it was really hard to leave her tonight being so worried about her fever and her blood sugar. I had to literally tear myself away, but I know I left her in capable hands. If I could have, I would have crawled right into bed with her and wiped her face and hands and feet all night. I love her so much - we're connected at the heart strings. But I must have faith in her strength and her potential. And of course, please keep praying and loving now more than ever. I love you all for loving her.