shr
member
Good to see the progress.
Revision TKR Never give up, keep trying, don't settle - that's me, Bonnie
- Thread starter RunA42K
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OP
OP
They took him off the ventilator but it was too soon as his airway was swollen and hard to breath. They put him back on the ventilator and sedated him, gave anti imflamatories so he will sleep for a while. So I am down here on the first floor donating blood in his name.
megbabyrn
senior
Bonnie,It is so frustrating isn't it. His hospitalization can be likened to our knee recovery in a sense with forward and backward steps. It sounds as though he wasn't quite ready, a tough call. Hope you and the " kids" are doing okay, and taking care of yourselves. Glad he's hanging in there. Make sure you drink lots of fluid after the blood donation. Don't want to end up on the floor like I did years ago!!
OP
OP
It felt nice to donate blood today! I have never done it before...no reason just all the usual lazy excuses, too busy, no time, will fatigue my running and blah, blah, blah....Well some anomomyus donors out there were not lazy because Dave has received 4 units of blood here at the big hospital in the medical center. He and I don't have the same blood type, but I can certainly help someone else just like someone helped Dave! They said I can donate every 8 weeks and I will. I can truly see the need now!
When I was done they offered me a free lunch voucher to the cafeteria here or a donor T-shirt (purple...I like that). It reads in a cross shape going vertical "I saved"...going horizontally "I gave" sharing the common letter A. I told them I would be proud to wear the T-shirt so that is my wearing apparel for tomorrow's day at the hospital!
Dave slept most of the day. I sat across the room and watched him. Another 40 minute wait and I can go back to his room.
I am praying that I will have a great update for you tomorrow! Love to you all...xo
When I was done they offered me a free lunch voucher to the cafeteria here or a donor T-shirt (purple...I like that). It reads in a cross shape going vertical "I saved"...going horizontally "I gave" sharing the common letter A. I told them I would be proud to wear the T-shirt so that is my wearing apparel for tomorrow's day at the hospital!
Dave slept most of the day. I sat across the room and watched him. Another 40 minute wait and I can go back to his room.
I am praying that I will have a great update for you tomorrow! Love to you all...xo
referee54
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We all are still praying for your husband and all of you!
zjrog
post-grad
I feel bad, just caught up with this. Yikes! Prayers for the both of you. I understand the stressful time you are in. But you have to make sure you get all the rest you can, something I've learned the hard way these last few years. I hope there is a full turn around really soon.
OP
OP
So I was on the fence last night about spending the night in ICU or coming home for sleep...Since Dave can't speak, the nurse got him to nod his head 'yes ' when she asked, Do you want your wife to go home and get some rest. So about 11:30 pm there is an accident on the freeway that I got caught up in although I was not involved. But crash debris punctured my rear tire! Now I have a flat tire to take care of before I can go back to the medical center in this morning! Honestly...can anything else go wrong? I should have just stayed the night again!
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Except for your rear tire, I hope things are looking up. Sounds like Dave is slowly recovering. Hope you have an uneventful day.
A big thank you for donating blood!!!
A big thank you for donating blood!!!
megbabyrn
senior
Bonnie, Giving you a virtual hug! Slow and steady is all you can hope for for your husband's progress. It sounds good. Take care of yourself (easier said than done, lol).
sunflower
graduate
Bonnie, I really like that slogan. I hope you got your tire problem resolved. Can your son come over and put the spare on for you and take the punctured tire to a tire center? Or call a wrecker service and see if they can change it for you?
Glad that your honey is making progress little by little and that he's feeling well enough to tell you to go home and get your rest. Continuing in prayer for you and your family. :prayer1:
Bonnie.....geeze, yet ANOTHER challenge for you. I guess this proves it for sure. You ARE Superwoman and you CAN get through anything. God bless you, hon.....I know this is tough.
I sure liked Sunflower's suggestions. Don't hesitate to get some help if you need it.
I sure liked Sunflower's suggestions. Don't hesitate to get some help if you need it.
PooShay
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Hi Bonnie. Just to let you know that when I'm not sleeping, I do keep a good thought for you, hubby, and now car! Hope Hubby had a good night.
OP
OP
I fell asleep driving home late last night, woke up when I ran my car into a curb while making a way too wide left turn! Screwed up my wheel but not the same one after the flat tire the night before on the freeway...that is why I need to find Starbucks tonight! No change in Dave tonight, white cells are climbing again, they changed his antibiotic. Maybe tomorrow will be a better day! I had to get my car registered today, (last day of the month) and renew my drivers license before my birthday in 13 days. Figured I should get it done while Dave was asleep anyway...finally failed the vision test...must wear glasses or contacts now for driving. Not that I don't anyway, I just don't like my license saying that. Oh well...the joys of turning 60. I am going to see my PT at 8 am tomorrow if I can wake up and see if he can do something with my super stiff unused knee!
Oh, Bonnie.....how SCARY!!! This is a "wake up call" (maybe the pun will give you a chuckle) that you need to arrange for more rest for yourself. Your body is running on empty! Can you arrange to stay at the hospital overnight? Will they provide a bed for you? Some do.
If not, then you must steel yourself to take off for home at a decent time to get sleep. You know you can always call the nurses to check on Dave.
Please, please be careful!!!
If not, then you must steel yourself to take off for home at a decent time to get sleep. You know you can always call the nurses to check on Dave.
Please, please be careful!!!
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Bonnie,
Your falling asleep at the wheel is very scary, glad you had your Son ride with you last night. Please take good care of yourself so you can be there for Dave.
Your falling asleep at the wheel is very scary, glad you had your Son ride with you last night. Please take good care of yourself so you can be there for Dave.
Morning Bonnie
You are really going through it at the moment - a tough time for you and your family. You must be so careful driving with the lack of sleep you are experiencing. You have just given us all a scare - be careful please!!! I hope today is better day for Dave and try to get that knee doing some simple exercises to flex it. Take care Bonnie xx
You are really going through it at the moment - a tough time for you and your family. You must be so careful driving with the lack of sleep you are experiencing. You have just given us all a scare - be careful please!!! I hope today is better day for Dave and try to get that knee doing some simple exercises to flex it. Take care Bonnie xx
OP
OP
The last time that Dave could talk to me for the short time when he did not have the ventilator he asked if I had been going to physical therapy and I said no, of course not I had been at the hospital everyday. He told me he wanted me to go, so I didn't lose all of the hard work that I had gained after my TKR. After calling the hospital first thing this morning to make sure that everything was ok down here, I went to my physical therapy again for the first time in about 3 weeks. I did it for Dave and for my own sanity too. I really have lost a lot of ROM and Extension just sitting here day after day. I will try to go each Tuesday and Thursday mornings now. They did a lot of soft tissue work on me today and did some short arcs, leg lifts and leg press.
I made it home last night all right without any flat tires or falling asleep at the wheel as the past two nights. Jake rode with me. However just driving in today was tough, as I45 was at a slow crawl taking me 1 1/2 hours to get here, I felt myself trying to nod off again while driving.
I was able to talk to the infectious disease doctor when I arrived, she said me that Dave is a hugely better than when he was when he came in here a week ago infection wise. I have been here for a couple of hours now, but he doesn't know it as he has been sedated the entire time. He is still on the ventilator but with a good heart rate and BP and no meds to regulate those reading at all. The kidneys are working again! I am told that the has some fluid in his right lung. They want to drain the fluid before they try to remove the ventilator but he has to be off of his blood thinning meds for 12 hours before they can do the draining. Since he had already had his blood thinner for the day, now they must wait for tomorrow. Dr. Timothy Cononelly was just here, and is ordering a CT scan of his neck. Very swollen, although Dave's lungs are fine, the airway around his throat will not let him breath so he needs the tube to get past that point. He does not need the ventilator to help his lungs anymore, but they want to see if there is a reason why he is swollen in his neck blocking his air passage. They could be looking at a tracheotomy in the near future but won't know until the CT Scan which has been ordered already and will be done sometime today or tonight. The pulmonary doctor is great and really on top of things. He told me that there would be no reason for me to sleep here tonight, that Dave would be sedated and not even know I was here. So maybe I can get some decent sleep tonight and come back as soon as the morning traffic clears. They said he is by no means out of the woods yet, still critical, quite possibly will still be here for weeks to come, then rehab. Oh...life used to be so easy!
Bonnie
"The road ahead is as long as you make it...make it worth the trip!"
I made it home last night all right without any flat tires or falling asleep at the wheel as the past two nights. Jake rode with me. However just driving in today was tough, as I45 was at a slow crawl taking me 1 1/2 hours to get here, I felt myself trying to nod off again while driving.
I was able to talk to the infectious disease doctor when I arrived, she said me that Dave is a hugely better than when he was when he came in here a week ago infection wise. I have been here for a couple of hours now, but he doesn't know it as he has been sedated the entire time. He is still on the ventilator but with a good heart rate and BP and no meds to regulate those reading at all. The kidneys are working again! I am told that the has some fluid in his right lung. They want to drain the fluid before they try to remove the ventilator but he has to be off of his blood thinning meds for 12 hours before they can do the draining. Since he had already had his blood thinner for the day, now they must wait for tomorrow. Dr. Timothy Cononelly was just here, and is ordering a CT scan of his neck. Very swollen, although Dave's lungs are fine, the airway around his throat will not let him breath so he needs the tube to get past that point. He does not need the ventilator to help his lungs anymore, but they want to see if there is a reason why he is swollen in his neck blocking his air passage. They could be looking at a tracheotomy in the near future but won't know until the CT Scan which has been ordered already and will be done sometime today or tonight. The pulmonary doctor is great and really on top of things. He told me that there would be no reason for me to sleep here tonight, that Dave would be sedated and not even know I was here. So maybe I can get some decent sleep tonight and come back as soon as the morning traffic clears. They said he is by no means out of the woods yet, still critical, quite possibly will still be here for weeks to come, then rehab. Oh...life used to be so easy!
Bonnie
"The road ahead is as long as you make it...make it worth the trip!"
megbabyrn
senior
Bonnie,Sounds like you really need your sleep tonight and then some. You are running on autopilot, but your batteries need a jump!! Glad you're taking care of your knee too, I know what it is like to sit at the bedside for hours on end in chairs that are never comfortable. Take care, drive safe in the morning!
