August 2013
-
One more removal
Namine’s heparin is scheduled to be stopped at 4:00 tomorrow morning. Then at 8:00, the remaining two chest tubes and pacing wires will be pulled! This is good news, indeed.
-
Real food again
We’re now on day two of getting Namine back to a regular diet. She’s had a variety of things – popsicles, Jell-O, chicken broth, and applesauce. She still hasn’t eaten a whole lot, but the fact that she’s willing to try a larger variety of food is enough for now.
-
Hope for tomorrow
Namine had a very good day today. Not only did she have one of her drainage tubes taken out, but she also did not throw up at all. True, all she had was Gatorade, water, and part of a popsicle, but she kept it all down, which is more than we could say for yesterday.
-
One drainage tube down
Namine had the first post-surgery drainage tube removed.
-
Ultrasound result
The results from Namine’s ultrasound came back, and everything is normal – blood flow is fine, and there are no clots whatsoever. That cleared things up for the physical therapist to come back and work with Namine’s legs, and since she has, Namine says her legs no longer hurt.
-
New day, new pain
Namine started complaining this morning of pain in her right foot, which progressed up her leg all the way up to her hip. She then started complaining of her left foot and leg hurting. It got so much worse that she was crying and struggling in her bed. The nurse gave her some morphine in…
-
A change of heart
I can’t think of a single time when the phrase “change of heart” has not been used figuratively, but in Namine’s case, it’s literal. Her entire body is getting used to her heart’s new physiology, and that comes with some drastic changes – not the least of which are a fluctuating fever, heart rate, and…
-
Day one of recovery, done
Namine is asleep. I just got back from walking Jessica to our car, so she can go home and get some sleep. Not the proto-sleep of lying in the hospital bed – and I use the term “bed” loosely – but actual rest in our own comfy pillow-top. I will stay here for the night,…
-
Waking up
Namine is starting to wake up today. She’s not a very happy camper, as the saying goes, but she was awake and lucid enough – before they gave her some morphine for the pain – to tell me, “Get me out of here! Get your little girl out of here!” The nurse said, “We need…
-
Settling in for the night
Namine is tucked into her bed, in her own room, here in the ICU.
-
The Fontan is done!
Namine completed her third heart surgery, a fenestrated Fontan procedure.
-
Almost done
The OR nurse just stopped in to tell us that they’ve started to warm Namine back up. It won’t be long now, and one of us will be allowed to go back and see her. They’ll be keeping her sedated for some time, though; we’ve been told to expect her to be in a significant…