Monday Night 06/07/10

The last couple of days have shown small improvements for Mom. Her blood pressure has held on its own pretty well over the last few days; so well that the doctors have taken her off of the continuous dialysis and began traditional dialysis treatments. Tonight was her first traditional dialysis treatment - it was started after a day of making her do the breathing on her own, with the respirator still in, and with a bit of a fever. Although these weren't the most ideal conditions to begin a dialysis treatment, the doctors went ahead and started. Mom's blood pressure remained high enough during the dialysis, but her heart rate was a little high (due to both the fever and all of the work that she did on her own today) - some of the time on dialysis was used only to filter her blood, and some was used for removing fluid. For her first treatment, they were able to remove about 30% of the ideal amount of fluid; considering what a day it was for Mom, everyone seemed pleased with the results of this treatment. We don't know yet if the dialysis will be daily at first or not. Typically dialysis treatments are done at the hospital on a Monday/Wednesday/Friday or Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday schedule, but the treatments can be done daily if needed.

The respirator is down to giving Mom 40% oxygen and the respiratory team is working to get her used to breathing on her own again. She could be extubated as soon as tomorrow, but we don't know for sure. Right now, we're pleased seeing the oxygen levels being reduced and seeing her do some of the breathing on her own.

Dad went to church on Sunday with Jim and Joan. Our wonderful next door neighbor Carla and her two little boys were there and Dad made sure they all sat together. Carla introduced Dad to a few different people within the church. On Sunday afternoon, Dad told me that he had met a "nightingale" at church that morning. I must have given him quite the look and asked him to elaborate on this "bird woman" and he explained to me that she has offered to have the church help us out with meals, prayers, and support for Mom and our family. So in other words, as I put it, we now have our very own Fairy God Mother! (I keep thinking how very excited Mom will be to know that her family has its own Fairy God Mother!) Turns out this Fairy God Mother also works in Physical Therapy and went to visit Mom on Sunday afternoon and did some range of motion with her and also said some prayers.

Behind every Fairy God Mother is an army of dedicated and amazing people who are willing to help and pitch in to make things a little easier for us, and this case is no different. In fact, I'm pretty sure that the entire church knows Dad at this point and close to half of them seemed to have called to offer kind words, support, and help in various ways. One of the Pastors came by the hospital today and spent some time with Dad, Brian, and me. We also received word from the church office that we will be getting dinners on Wednesday and Friday this week from some of the church members. I have to say that these people are truly amazing and it is very touching to know that they are willing to do so much to help us in this time of need. The outpouring of love and support from our family has been a huge comfort, but to receive it from complete strangers is a truly a blessing in disguise and I find that I am filled with an immense amount of joy each time I think of the pure good that all of these people are doing for us. In fact, it's pretty overwhelming sometimes and I wish I knew how to properly thank everyone that has been here for us.

We wish Jim and Joan luck and love on their travels and thank them for being able to be here with us this past weekend. It was one of the lower points on the roller coaster of emotions that this experience has been, but having the two of them here helped to ease some of the pain and frustration that we were feeling. We expect them to be back in our area in the next few weeks and look forward to Mom being better for their next visit.

Keep the prayers, good vibes, and positive thoughts coming our way! Hugs and kisses to you all...