Showing posts with label fresh linens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fresh linens. Show all posts

Sunday, March 13, 2011

House of thirty-something flavors? Let's hope not.

Dear Madeline,

Apparently, Mom and I are awful, awful parents. Doctor Obvious swept in to rescue us from our terrible and misguided ways yesterday by informing us that you really should be eating. I want you to live life unjaded by morons like this guy, so I'll spare you what I really thought about that guy and instead say that I was a little frustrated by the remark.

That remark, though, does mirror our concern for you. The doctors won't let you go home until you eat and poop normally. Sweet pea, we want nothing more than to unhook you from all of these tubes and machines and to take you home where you belong. 

Saturday, March 5, 2011

A Peak for Every Valley, and Vice-Versa

Dear Madeline,

After such a challenging night last night, you really bounced back today in a major way. The surgical team removed your NG tube during morning rounds. This made you so happy that you threw up. Ok, you were happy after that. You sat up quite a bit today, you were interested in playing with toys, you enjoyed being in my arms, and your long-absent smile returned. It was a great morning!

With no tube going through your nose, there was also no reason to keep your arms and hands restrained. Or so we thought. With nothing left to disturb you in your face, you turned your attention to the infusaport that was implanted in your chest during your surgery on Sunday. And apparently you want that out too since it seems that you keep digging at it. Twice today we have discovered bleeding at the site. Miss Madeline, of all the things to preserve for this hospital stay, this is the most vital.  We cannot let you rip this out, the port is how you will receive the medicine that will ultimately save your life.  We're praying that this be preserved without further damage, which means praying that you leave it alone. I can only imagine what you might do once the chemotherapy drugs start coursing through your system after getting them via the port.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Working with the Blues and the Greens

Dear Madeline,

It's been an interesting 24 hours for you.  Yesterday brought great news overall and you had your resilience and persistence on full display. Going into last night and the overnight hours, you started paying the price for removing your waste tube. I lost count of how many times you made those sweet nurses change your bed linens after you gave the special effects in The Exorcist a run for their money.  How ironic that pulpy green is the color of both.

In light of your overnight shenanigans, The docs ordered the NG tube reinserted today, and that worked out well for the most part (so did those arm immobilizers!). The bigger issue today was your pain. Since the pain management specialists removed your epidural, which kept your incision area nice and numb, the reality of what you've been through began hitting you pretty hard. All the times you puked your guts out or coughed to clear your chest clearly put your body under additional stress, and your crying told the story. As did all those soiled sheets and blankets, coated IV lines, and fresh dressings.