Happy Halloween!   10/31/13

Last night, Nicole insisted she was hungry, so Nurse Lucy ordered her a plate of pasta in alfredo sauce!!! "Real food", Nicole says. Over the course of a movie and a half, she finished most of a huge plate.  Finally, success with food.

She slept well (when she slept) and is starting to be frustrated with being in the hospital. That's a great sign that her recovery is moving forward; makes the treatment team happy.  She is asking the staff if she can at least get out in a wheelchair today to look around. Maybe later after Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy have their time with her, the team says she then may be able to at least wheel around ICU.

Her heart is trying to misbehave again since midnight: with slow heartbeat and some PVCs again. As I understand  it may be related to the medications she is on and adjustments are under way.
The parade of medical staff has begun this morning. They are so great with Nicole,  involving her at every opportunity, talking and laughing together. Nicole says she likes them...She is in heaven being able to watch TV and eat from bed.  Doesn't get much better than that.  However Nicole is making fun of me; my "office" and "bedroom" is in her bathroom..... LOL, she says "it's everything YOU need, Dad"  and had a nurse take a picture..

Nicole is taking a real balanced perspective about this, continuing to piece together what actually happened, and what the meaning of it all is.  Her angels have certainly been watching over her!

Her sister Alexandra (8yo) is doing pretty well.  Her class has made a get-well poster for Nicole.  Alexandra says "The other kids aren't asking too many questions, which is good, 'cause then I would cry".  "They ask me about it and I tell them: You know how you sometimes get mad at your big sister, and don't want them around you?  It's when they're gone or sick that you really know how much you love them".  Alexandra is looking forward to coming to the hospital soon to visit Nicole.

More to come...

Oh my, we were opening cards that she received last week for her birthday (before the event). In one of the cards was this...  A truth we should attend to.

In the treatment team rounds, the focus was on moving her more to eating on her own, and expanding her diet to supplement the "burger in a bag" that she is getting into her via the IV.  Appetite comes and goes.  There is some concern that her left lung is still collapsed, and not resolving quite as expected.  More x-rays....  The team was concerned that perhaps she aspirated some food, but after checking with the Mom who was at the restaurant they confirmed that the event happened before even bread was brought to the table.  So that's good news.  The team ordered some "percussive" types of therapy that loosen up the lungs, and more work with the wicked inspirometer (some of you may know the torture device used by ICU nurses to increase lung capacity: the patient has to sustain an inhale through the device at a certain rate.  Not fun)!

And then Physical Therapy showed up again...... and before you know it Nicole was walking down the hall!  She was so proud, as she should well be... leading the pack of staff trailing her, dragging her pole of IV pumps.  As an added benefit, the exercise prompted her heart to act out again, which helps the cardiologists know what to expect and treat.

Blessings continue to support her.  She was moved to hear from Father Okumu (who came to provide Annointing of the Sick to her, and who she knows from our time in Edmonds) and hear that he will be offering the mass on Friday for her.