11/20/08 - 9a, 1p, and 5p Visit

Hello Everyone !
Sorry for the delay. No news is good news, because nothing has changed, much since I last posted here. I have been spending every minute in the room with Wendy. I was able to pull the Chair-Bed up to her bed last night and put it at the same level as her bed so that I could help to keep her on her side and rub her back, if it started hurting her. The great thing is that we were actually able to get some sleep. Unfortunately, we slept so soundly that I missed Doctor's Rounds this morning, so, I didn't get to ask any questions or get any new info. I'll post a picture of the chair that I have been sleeping-in... you'll laugh...

I have had to address a bunch of things from work, so, any time that I have had outside of the room, I had to jump on that, but I'm almost caught-up now. This morning, I was told that I can no longer stay in the room with Wendy because another patient's mother got upset that they would not let her stay, even though they let me stay. What she didn't understand is that Wendy is very stable and visitors don't pose a germ-threat to Wendy. Her son is on a ventilator and is immobile so that he does not pierce any internal organs, etc. With him being in that condition, germs and human contact could cause him to get infections, etc. It's OK, though. Wendy does not like me being gone, but she understands. I'm guessing that, from the news, and the amount of Helicopter landings, that it has been a pretty tragic day in Memphis and the surrounding areas. The Trauma Unit is full now and the nurses are running-around like crazy.

So, Wendy is doing very well. She was very uncomfortable last night because she has not been able to get up. Her tailbone is broken, so, she was having to shift her weight from left to right to be comfortable. We figured-out a new trick to help, though... She rolls on to her right side and I can massage her back. Her muscles are really tight, so, it's relaxing her a lot. She's not allowed to get-up or be tilted-up in the bed more than 30-degrees. This keeps the stress off of her arteries and keeps her heart rate low. She has been eating, but mostly just meat and a little of her veggies. I have been getting her Cokes, but she doesn't drink much of that either. The Nurses are getting her to take a drink of water every time they come-in to check on her, so, hopefully, that will improve her output. They aren't worried. They just want to make sure that everything is OK.

Yesterday, at the 5pm visit, Wendy's Neighbor, Sheryl, brought Tyler up here and Kimberly came-up to visit. Wendy was happy to see Tyler, as usual, and was pretty talkative. We had a few laughs, too! Today, at the 1pm visit, we ate a bunch of food and watched movies. Don and Tyler came-by at 5pm today to say "hi". Tyler had LOTS of energy! (haha) Since the Trauma Unit is getting more strict on their policies, Tyler will now have to come at an "off" hour so that he can see his Mom, but we worked-out a time.

I think that they are planning on doing another Four Vessel Angiogram on Tuesday to see how well her carotid arteries have healed. I'll try to find-out in the morning.

Well, it's back to work for me until the 9pm visit. I'll do my best to post regular updates again. I can do short ones from my phone, but I use my laptop for the long ones.

Talk to you soon,
Shawn