Ted again. The "C'mon Baby..." post was written as Kathy was heading to surgery. Thought it posted, but still worth letting everyone know.
Kathy is fearless in so many ways;
Swimming through icy cold water in the dark to get to the other side of an ocean cave!
Rappelling down cliffs to a secluded beach on ropes tied by unknown people!
Reaching into the rocks to pick up a baby skunk and rescue it from starving!
Camp out by herself for days on end without cell service!
Marry a deisel truck driving, construction working man with a house full of teenage boys!
(Wow! That last one makes the others seem tame by comparison.)
Now Kathy is going to show just how exceptional she really is, by rebounding from this the way she tackles everything else!
Even though unending pain without a finish line in sight makes the strongest of us weak.
Anxiety may sneak in, but there is no quit in this girl!
Thursday, October 20, 2011
C'mon Baby! Believe with me!
Kathy goes in for more surgery. She had a rough night. Not much rest for her.
She is too aware of her situation.
Where I could lay in pain, naive in my ignorance, and trust everything the staff tells me, Kathy is too smart, too much of a realist and knows too much of the risks to be fooled into serenity. The ups and downs in her condition and pain level create alot of anxiety in her.
As optimistic as Jessica and I are, it's a tough sell to Kathy at times.
She is too aware of her situation.
Where I could lay in pain, naive in my ignorance, and trust everything the staff tells me, Kathy is too smart, too much of a realist and knows too much of the risks to be fooled into serenity. The ups and downs in her condition and pain level create alot of anxiety in her.
As optimistic as Jessica and I are, it's a tough sell to Kathy at times.
10/20 surgery update
Right ankle: thoroughly cleaned, but did not move forward with ligament repair because of "suspicious fluid" seeping from joint. Could be an indication of early infection. Hopefully antibiotics can get it under control so monday's surgery can do what today's was supposed to.
Left knee/leg; removed more muscle that had died off in the front of the calf. Cleaned and replaced wound-vac sponges with new. Monday's surgery, if plans don't change, will begin the bone repair to the knee and leg. Doctor said the leg frame should come off at that point. Weird to think of the pins and rods being removed, since it has been all that has held her leg in place.
She is back in the room, groggy but hungry...yay for hungry!
Left knee/leg; removed more muscle that had died off in the front of the calf. Cleaned and replaced wound-vac sponges with new. Monday's surgery, if plans don't change, will begin the bone repair to the knee and leg. Doctor said the leg frame should come off at that point. Weird to think of the pins and rods being removed, since it has been all that has held her leg in place.
She is back in the room, groggy but hungry...yay for hungry!
Kathy's (hospital) address
For those that have requested:
Room 1516
Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health
2801 N. Gantenbein
Portland, OR 97227
*She will be up for phone calls soon.
In Surgery
Wow! What a fantastic medical team! :) She will be in for the next 2-3 hours. Will update after meeting with surgeon.
Kathy is SOOO grateful to ALL of you!! She keeps saying it and can't believe how many people truly care about her! She thanks you for the cards, balloons and flowers and the piles of prayers and well wishes.
Kathy is SOOO grateful to ALL of you!! She keeps saying it and can't believe how many people truly care about her! She thanks you for the cards, balloons and flowers and the piles of prayers and well wishes.
Morning update 10/20
Surgery has been moved up a bit. 10:30 ish we hope. They will be cleaning out the faschiotimy sites on the left leg, cleaning out the right ankle and they will begin repairing ligaments in the ankle.
A big part of her struggle right now is SO much fluid retention(third spacing), she is so puffy everywhere and it's very painful in her stomach/abdomen. Despite them telling us she probably has some blockage, her bowels are extremely loose; this has been a part time job for Ted and I as a toilet is not an option. We've seriously got it down to a science and it will be an interesting addition to my resume'. haha
A big part of her struggle right now is SO much fluid retention(third spacing), she is so puffy everywhere and it's very painful in her stomach/abdomen. Despite them telling us she probably has some blockage, her bowels are extremely loose; this has been a part time job for Ted and I as a toilet is not an option. We've seriously got it down to a science and it will be an interesting addition to my resume'. haha
Peaks and Valleys
Poor girl had a rough night! Ted is amazing!! I forgot to sleep yesterday...Ooops! I was rendered useless between 1-4 and each time I woke, I observed Ted in his role as the doting, loving, extremely patient Husband that he is!
Kathy and I were talking about how each day has felt like two or three, or ...? Seriously, when you take sleep out of the equation we gain 8+ semi conscious hours so the day stretches to 32 hours...Each time theres a shift change, it feels like a new day...so suddenly your memory is morphing one day into three.
Kathy is extremely worried about losing the use of her left leg. As she spends more time awake she spends more time self-diagnosing & the advantages of her vast knowledge work against her. I've sent Ted to get some sleep in the waiting room and Bonnie is bringing some valium. Hopefully this nights window for rest has not passed.
Kathy and I were talking about how each day has felt like two or three, or ...? Seriously, when you take sleep out of the equation we gain 8+ semi conscious hours so the day stretches to 32 hours...Each time theres a shift change, it feels like a new day...so suddenly your memory is morphing one day into three.
Kathy is extremely worried about losing the use of her left leg. As she spends more time awake she spends more time self-diagnosing & the advantages of her vast knowledge work against her. I've sent Ted to get some sleep in the waiting room and Bonnie is bringing some valium. Hopefully this nights window for rest has not passed.
Good night 10/19
The nurse just left...Kathy is out and i covered poor ted with a blanket. He lost the battle and is resting his head on the window sill. Surgery is scheduled for 11:30 tomorrow, but Bonnie (our awesome, spunky night nurse) thinks we may have a chance to get in early. We all hope for that.
Picking out wall paper:)
To say the room change did us good is an understatement!! The farewell from the ICU was all well wishes and sentiments of what a delightful patient and person Kathy is! The farewell on my side was a too loud "Thank you!" and "See ya on the flip side!" The driver of Kathys bed could compete...he wheeled that one-size-fits-no-one bed around like it was on rails!
Though we requested the penthouse, we are pretty sure 1516 was a janitors closet in its past life...lol...just kidding! I spent the first 30 min re-arranging furniture and decorating, Ted drug in a recliner from across the hall and we decided first thing tomorrow we'll pick out wallpaper.
You never hear, "Oh he's doing great, he's in the ICU!" I think we were not giving the psychological hardship of the ICU it's due credit...It seems like as soon as we left, we all exhaled a relieved breath and with the next breath started cracking jokes. Kathy had a couple of very lucid hours tonight and though it wore her out, she laughed...we all laughed!
Though we requested the penthouse, we are pretty sure 1516 was a janitors closet in its past life...lol...just kidding! I spent the first 30 min re-arranging furniture and decorating, Ted drug in a recliner from across the hall and we decided first thing tomorrow we'll pick out wallpaper.
You never hear, "Oh he's doing great, he's in the ICU!" I think we were not giving the psychological hardship of the ICU it's due credit...It seems like as soon as we left, we all exhaled a relieved breath and with the next breath started cracking jokes. Kathy had a couple of very lucid hours tonight and though it wore her out, she laughed...we all laughed!
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