August 24, 2012 - OUT OF ICU!

When I really began to experience ICU camaraderie Gretchen moved on.

This will have to be quick because my mother-in-law gave her blessing on Peter and I doing Brook Trout Restoration work tomorrow so we have a lot to do (pray that nothing happens to Gretchen while we are gone or to us while we are up there).

As of 6:00 pm, Gretchen is out of ICU.  She has moved to the intermediate care unit.  She can have someone with her 24 hours a day.  During the day she can have 2 visitors and at night she can have 1 overnight. 

Peter and I were visiting in her new room and I noticed that she looked uncomfortable and was scrunching her eyes closed.  I asked what was wrong but couldn't understand so I asked if we were making too much noise.  As soon as we got it sorted out the nurse came and then the patient care technician came in and then her parents came in...oops, way too much noise.  The nurse and I stepped away to talk while Peter sucked a big nasty gooey thing out of her mouth.  Gretchen's nurse wants to hire Peter! 

Pray that rest will help Gretchen (that is something she will be able to get more of now).  I am hoping that family members who come and visit over the next few days will bring something to quietly occupy themselves instead of trying to get her to talk. 

There is an echo-cardiogram scheduled for the weekend and then an arteriogram for next week.  I also know that there is another MRI that will be done in about 6 weeks when much of the blood has been absorbed from the brain.

When Gretchen is feeling a bit more communicative I will ask her about other visitors (certain "practically family" would be welcome right now, I am sure - I have told you that when she was in ICU and it goes double now - contact Gretchen's parents or sister to find out where if you would like to go up Saturday).  Once she has had some rest and is feeling better I am sure she will welcome visitors (if her vanity doesn't get in the way).

I wanted to talk about some of the people we met through ICU, especially a family from 3 hours away who was traveling through Chattanooga when the wife had an aneurism followed by respiratory problems.  The had been staying in a hotel but had just rented a house so they could be close and now they need to let her go.  Pray for them, the Ward family.  There are so many others to pray for but they are the ones who are hurting the most that I have encountered.  I do not know if they are believers or not but one of them did say that they would continue to pray for Gretchen.  I hurt for them because there have been times in the last two weeks where I have wondered if I would have to make that decision.