Rough Day

Written at 8:30PM

After receiving a good progress report early this morning, our optimism quickly changed.

It was a rough day. No, it was a very, very, very rough day!

After the third attempt, they were successful in putting in the epidural however, it took several hours to get the pain to a managed level. Joy was thrashing, pulling, tugging in obvious pain and nothing seemed to be working. Her tears rubbed of to the family as our anxieties grew. Major swelling in her neck and cheeks raised concerns that the lungs may have collapsed. X-rays later confirmed that they did not. Her blood pressure dropped significantly which impacted the level of pain medication she could receive. Although she maintains a fever of about 101 degrees, the concern is minimal at this moment and another "bronc" appears to have ruled out infection in the lungs. Due to the nature of patients in Acute Care, only two family members are allowed each hour and for only very brief minutes. Visiting hours are limited to 9AM to 9PM but if they are working on her, it usually delays our time with her. She has two RN's in her room 24 hours a day and doing a great job with her. Finally, around 5:00PM she seemed to improve and they actually took her off the ventilator, gave her sips of water and had her swallow three pills. She was so relieved to have the ventilator removed and although her voice was a mere whisper, it was so refreshing to hear her voice. Sitting up in bed and maybe brief walk in the room may be on the agenda for her tonight.

Prior to them "kicking us out the night", we left her knowing that once again, she was showing some improvement. Now we rest while she rests. God please, no more days like this.