a little scare

The worst part about the breathing tube other than it being there and for so long is the pure frustration I have from trying to communicate with Lucy.  I can see in her eyes she is trying to talk to me but without words it is nearly impossible to understand exactly what she needs.  We have been using the squeeze method.  I asked her question and if they answer is yes, she will squeeze my finger.  Unfortunately, I don't always know all the questions to ask.

Case in point, last night (I'll get to the scary stuff in a minute).  After all was said and done and Lucy was stable, she was showing much discomfort.  She was able to communicate that she was not in pain and did not want water, but I really didn't know what to ask.  Late last night she threw up sludge.  Pretty much the stress to her body created a back up of old blood, bile and other stuff that was just sitting in her stomach.  After she threw up, a tube was placed in her other nostril and they suctioned out more of the sludge.  She seems to really settle after her stomach was clear.  I have since added, 'is your stomach icky' to my list of questions.

Back to Friday, this week has left Lucy sensitive and very highly stressed.  I mean who could blame her, two sternotomies in three days and her skin has taken a beating from all the dressing changes on her chest tubes.  Early afternoon the PICC team came to change yet another dressing and I think that was the straw that set her over the edge.  Shortly after Mike came back in the room and her saturation began to drop, followed by her blood pressure.  The room started to fill up with nurses and doctors, then her heart rate dropped and they started chest compressions.  She stabilized quickly, but had no other reason then stress and agitation for her code.  They pulled all her pain and sedation medication to wake her up to ensure no other damage (like stroke) had happened.  By 5:30, they had given a dose of phenobarbital and she was calm again.

Since the fenestration stenting, her oxygen has been sitting in the 65 to 70 range.  With lower oxygen saturation, her belly is not getting optimal blood and that's probably a factor in the aforementioned sludge.  This morning her blood pressure and saturations have looked great.  The team has been able to ween the vent settings back to before the code.  We are keeping her sedated today (and probably tomorrow) to heal, but are hoping that was rock bottom and we can only move up from here.

I can't tell you the comfort I feel from those that have continuously been lifting Lucy, our family and her medical team up in prayer.  We are eternally grateful for your diligence.  We love you!