Grandma Passed

10:49pm Sunday, August 28, 2011

The third room

I just got to the hospital. Grandma has been moved to a third room where more family can be in the room at once. Apparently the infection that she has didn't really go away and now she has pneumonia, and some other issues that are not fixable. Its Sunday, so there are not a lot of people around, but there is a room next door to Grandma that has like 20 people sitting around one bed.

Miracle or Miraculous

Grandma Update: she is sitting up having eggs and talking, the infection is going away, her heart is beating steady, they are going to move her to another room with minimal monitoring, then decide tomorrow whether to keep her or send her home.

Friday Night...

After spending the day with Grandma, or rather spending the day in her ICU room, not much has changed. Grandma is relatively stable and being treated for her issues.

The bleeding in the outer protective layer of her brain continues, but is being treated by reducing her coumadine levels to allow the blood to naturally clot.
The small benign tumor at the back and inside of her skull is no issue and will be left alone.
While sometimes fluctuating and irregular, Grandma's heart continues to beat. Her heart thankfully continues to beat despite the leaking valve and thickening blood.
Grandma's potassium levels continue to be extremely low even with more than 5 bags being given. Her levels are not rising as they should be with such treatment.
The rampant infection is being aggressively treated with strong antibiotics. The possible source of the infection was found in a small cut on her leg. Because it is believed that this strain of infection is resistant to most antibiotics and could potentially be life threatening, Grandma has been put under quarantine. Which means all persons entering her room must be wearing full gown, gloves, and a mask. The major issue is avoiding direct contact and not touching her with unprotected skin. Thus avoiding contracting it yourself or passing it on to someone else. Unfortunately it is not possible yet to assertain whether the infection is reducing given the treatment. A side affect of this treatment is pronounced lethargy.

Friday Morning Update

Grandma is awake and responding inbetween dozing off. The bleeding on her brain is a little worse, so the doctors are lowering her caumadin levels to try and get the blood to clot and fix the small tears in the membrane surrounding the brain. Her kidneys are working fine. The infection is still hanging in, so they are trying to fight that with strong doses of antibiotics. Grandma's potassium levels are coming back to acceptable levels. Dad and Dorothy are at the hospital now and spoke with a doctor and a social worker, and have decided to give Grandma another 24 hours to see if she continues to improve, before making any more major decisions. Virginia is resting at home, and Dr. John is staying home today. Dorothy and Dad (JW) will be hanging around the hopital today, and will be staying in the hotel another night.