Thursday evening started off rough with nausea and dry heaves. It was not a fun evening, so we were glad when the nurse gave her some medicine that let her sleep for a whole two hours. You have to understand, there is no way - none - that anyone could have kept up with Tammy's sleep schedule the three days before. We would watch TV until 12:30 or 1:00 am, then I would beg out. She might actually nod off to sleep. However, when I would return at 4:00 am, the nurse would tell me she only slept 30 min to an hour at most. Then we would chat and talk until 6:00 am. I would go crash for a few hours. She would have physical therapy and maybe occupational therapy while I was gone. When I would get back to her, she would be in the chair. Even when she was exhausted from being in the chair, she still would only snooze for a few minutes, then she'd be awake until 1:30 or 2:00 pm. Then she would take another 45 minute nap, only to be awake until I couldn't keep my eyes open at 12:30 am again. So, even though the nausea was bad, you understand why I said at least she slept.
When I came in at 5 that morning, she was fine, but when I returned at 10:30, she was hurting. Her arm and her hand were making her miserable. To touch it or move it would bring her to tears. This time they gave her some pain meds that absolutely knocked her out. She even slept through a visit from one of her friends. It took all day for us to finally get an ice pack, but when I returned later, she was much better but still in pain. Her sister came up and spent the night Friday, because I had to work this morning, which was a great relief since the previous 24 hours hadn't been so easy.
When we returned this afternoon, we discovered that she has a lung that has collapsed, sometime in the last couple of days. The kicker is, they are going to wait to see if it re-inflates itself, and may not do anything until Monday. Pray, please pray. But at this point, do not only pray that will re-inflate, also pray for the Doctors that I don't become impatient. It is so hard for "wait and see." I don't know medicine, even though I am much smarter than 8 weeks ago. And I know that my verse for this season tells me to "Wait for the Lord," so I know things are in His hands, but it is hard to know when I am supposed to say something, and when I am supposed to shut up and wait. I really need to talk to a doctor so I can learn one more thing, so I can understand better. What I do know is that in order for them to re-inflate the lung, she will have to have a chest tube. Which may be why they want to wait, so, dear Warriors on your knees, pray once again for a miracle.
Before I go much further, I need to let you know, she is not in too much pain from the collapsed lung. Remember that there are no nerve connections between her brain and her lungs. The nerves do not grow from her bronchial tubes to the donor lungs. So, it hurts a little to breathe because of the muscles, but the lung itself doesn't hurt. It is serious stuff, but she is not in excruciating pain.
So, if you decide to come visit, please give us a call first. If you don't have our number, you probably know someone who does. If you can't get in touch with them, you can call the hospital waiting room. The number is in the phone book. I am not going to list the information here to reduce the chance of spammers and other people locating this blog through a search or other spy ware program. Thanks for understanding.
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