Tuesday PM 09-30-08

After several hours off of the ventilator, everything seems to be fine. Mother is breathing on her own and is under observation with the ventilator in bypass mode; that is, mother is breathing without oxygen. Her blood oxygen level is still in the 90s. She is off of the Propofol anethesia and is mildly alert. Her eyes are open wide and she looks into your eyes at times, but other times her eyes glaze over. It will take a while for her to get back into this world mentally; she will be more cognizant in 2-3 days.

As a result of the Profonol cutoff, her blood pressure has returned to normal. I asked the nurse to keep an eye on it because she was on blood proessure medicine before all of this started. She said she has a watch for 170 on top and is to call the doctor if it gets that high. It was 145 when I left. The nurse said her current pressure is actually within the normal range.

Mother tested negative in her blood for CDIF, a condition of the colon or intestines. That was good news.

The plan for tonight is to be at or close to her side all night. She will gradually regain full awareness of her surroundings. Tomoorrow morning, the doctor plans to remove the ventilator. At that point, we expect her to have an extraction tube for fluids in her mouth and nothing more.

The pulmonary doctor was upbeat this afternoon. He was routing for her to recover and noting how miraculous all of this progress has been. In the photo to the left, on the right is mother and on the left her sister Avis.