THE DRAIN IS OUT!
Yes, that is truly cause for rejoicing! The doctor felt that, although it was still draining slightly, it was time to take the drain out. I am so glad, one less source of infection. They suspect that the elevated temperature is due to a UTI so they are treating in that direction while they wait for final results. Once that is under control and no problems have resulted from the drain removal they will probably move her out of ICU (I think)
They have scheduled an MRI for tomorrow (not sure when). I don't know if this is related to the benign tumor in her brain (probably had it since before birth) or to identify the source of the bleed or both. I eagerly await the results of that, regardless (I am going to lug her historic MRIs around for a couple days, just in case).
Tonight is Scouts night (Peter received his Second Class badge, along with several merit badges, all thanks to Gretchen's help) so I started this while dinner was heating but didn't get back to it until after the report from her parents. I had all sorts of things I was going to talk about but now they are gone, oh well.
The evening report was good (forgot to ask about fever). She wasn't as up as last night but she was in and out and when her father told her about a visit from some family friends the first time she seemed asleep. Her father mentioned it again a bit later when she seemed more alert and she told him that he had already told her about that. I guess we need to watch what we say around her because she seems to be always listening.
If I didn't know Gretchen well enough I would think she was not speaking to me. For the last few days either she hasn't been awake when I was around or she woke up briefly and spoke to Peter while I was away talking to the nurse. I wish I could speak with her but as long as others are I am content that my time will come.
Continue to pray for Gretchen, she is not out of the woods. If she needs to be in ICU I want her to stay there but from what I can see she could use a bit of uninterrupted sleep. Pray for my patience and that I won't lose heart as I try to develop plans.
Pray for Peter and me both as I am going to try to start back to work tomorrow (Wednesday). That means I will do the 10:00 visit without Peter, go to work for half a day, and got the the 4:00 visit. Peter will get up whenever he wakes up (given his recent short nights I hope it will be after I leave), get around, and go over to his grandparents. He is capable of handling all of his morning on his own but this will be the first time he has done it with no one else in the house. Pray for an extra dose of courage for him (he has been saying it would be no problem but saying and doing...).
One more thing to pray about. I need wisdom. This Saturday the Trout Unlimited group that I am involved in is doing their annual Brook Trout monitoring day up on some of the streams around Tellico. Last year Peter helped with the removal of Rainbow Trout from a stream up there and this year they are going to stock it with Southern Appalachian Brook Trout (raised in a facility TU helped with). I don't know if we should do it. It will be an all-day thing so we probably wouldn't visit her at all on Saturday. Much, of course, will depend on her condition but I don't want to neglect her needs for our fun (although it is educational and counts as service work for Scouts) or neglect Peter's needs to go sit in a hospital room and read a book (assuming she isn't in ICU).
Philippians 4:4 - Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say , rejoice!
That's great news! One milestone passed. A room on a regular floor would also be a great milestone to pass. Your mom expressed again how she wants to be there with you. I told her that perhaps when things slow down here and there, she might be able to go. I really hope we can make that happen. She would love to be of help to you.
ReplyDeleteI visited Montclaire with her today and we all feel that is not the right place for them. Your dad is relieved. Still there are more things to look into. But we are handling them and know you are handling things on your end.
Give Peter a hug and tell Gretchen I wish I had called her back a few weeks ago. Times like these make a person aware of how little they expect things to change and how much there is to regret by not seizing every opportunity. Let her know I love her and will call her when she is ready to get phone calls again.
Love to you all,
Tammy
Awesome! So are we just finding out about the tumor? If so, could that have been the trigger of her seizures over the years, and if so why are we just now finding out about it? Seems weird. I guess it's not operable? Either way it's great to se Gretchen's continued recovery.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteWe found out about the tumor before Peter was born. It is believed to be the cause of the seizures but could not be confirmed. At first it was considered inoperable and then they decided that they could use something like a radio-knife or focused-beam surgery (don't recall what they called it) but the decision was that possible collateral damage, no guarantee it would improve the seizures, and the possibility of it aggravating the seizures made that option out of the question.
In regards to the Trout Group's day at the river. In my opinion, I think that if Gretchen is stable, that she would want both you and Peter to participate in it, especially Peter. She sounds like she would want as much normalcy in his life as possible during this time! Plus you have family that will be visiting her that day and they could always call you if needed.
ReplyDeleteHappy to hear the drain was removed. Keep in mind that small steps are good steps.
Linda Borders