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ismoA day of ups and downs. We dashed over to the hospital first thing in the morning, hoping to catch the doctors when they came around. Of course that meant they didn't show till mid-morning. Ah well. We got to greet Mother as she woke up, and help re-orient her. She was grumpy because she was still recuperating. They had tried to give her apple juice when she woke up in the wee hours, and she threw up, so she was still on clear liquids, and was pretty disappointed about that. They got her up into a chair, gave her a wash-up and walked her to the bathroom.
We ordered her some things off the liquid menu. A physician's assistant came by and checked her stats, which he said looked good. He could not hear a heart murmur any more when he listened to her heart. That is great because it means the new valve is working. We asked about the temporary pacemaker, which they said she'd have, but she didn't have it. He said that when they installed it, it didn't seem to be working, and then they decided she didn't need it because her heart was producing its own electrical impulses just fine. Sometimes the installation of the valve interrupts the pathways for the electrical circuits that trigger the heart to pump, and that's why they put in a pacemaker till the heart readjusts. But in her case, that didn't happen, so no pacemaker. This was good news, too.
She drank her chicken bouillon and ate her jello like a champ, so they took her off the clear diet. A tech came and ultrasounded her heart. She didn't give a report to us, but we did hear her say to Mother that her old valve was like a tiny pinhole, and now there was a good-sized channel for the blood to go through. The PTs came and took her for a walk. It was brief and her heart rate went up enough to set off the alarms, but it was progress. The surgeon stopped by and said she was doing very well. No discharge date set yet. He told the nurses they could take out the port in her neck vein, which was great because it was really bothering her. It was there for possible placement of the pacemaker and emergency meds that would go straight to her heart if necessary--but not needed. So that was great! Mr. and Ms. Science returned and helped with ordering her lunch, and kept us company while she ate it. By two or three o'clock, she was wiped out, so we all took off for awhile while she napped.
The Sparrowhawk and I went out into the cold wind, hoping to get some much needed exercise and find a place to eat. I saw about five places that I thought might be good. Every one of them was closed. This college town we knew in our youth seemed very grey and forbidding, not much left of places we had any nostalgia for. We ended up at a little hole-in-the-wall Japanese restaurant. I had imagined that I was doing fine, but by the time we sat down, I felt like crying. My stomach was killing me and my mood had taken a nose dive. I should have been happy because Mother is doing so well, but instead I crashed. The food I ordered was pretty bad, and I only ate it because I thought I'd feel worse if I didn't. It was a bento box but with everything lukewarm and not cooked quite right. At least there were some vegetables in it.
However, I felt worse and worse. We walked back to the car and I asked the Sparrowhawk to take me back to the hotel, where I immediately crashed for the next two hours. I wouldn't have crawled out of bed at all, but we'd made a date to have dinner with Deb and the Prussian while Mr. and Ms. Science went back to watch over Mother's evening meal. We went out to a Mediterranean place, and I was worried I'd screw up my stomach even worse. But I finally found what I'd been wanting to eat for days--a nice plain salad with some chicken on it. I ate about half of it, and some mint tea, and it seems to be okay at least for now. It was great and cheering to visit with friends, as always, and I had actually remembered to bring their Christmas present. And now I hope I can SLEEEEEP for a change. Tomorrow will be another busy day.
We ordered her some things off the liquid menu. A physician's assistant came by and checked her stats, which he said looked good. He could not hear a heart murmur any more when he listened to her heart. That is great because it means the new valve is working. We asked about the temporary pacemaker, which they said she'd have, but she didn't have it. He said that when they installed it, it didn't seem to be working, and then they decided she didn't need it because her heart was producing its own electrical impulses just fine. Sometimes the installation of the valve interrupts the pathways for the electrical circuits that trigger the heart to pump, and that's why they put in a pacemaker till the heart readjusts. But in her case, that didn't happen, so no pacemaker. This was good news, too.
She drank her chicken bouillon and ate her jello like a champ, so they took her off the clear diet. A tech came and ultrasounded her heart. She didn't give a report to us, but we did hear her say to Mother that her old valve was like a tiny pinhole, and now there was a good-sized channel for the blood to go through. The PTs came and took her for a walk. It was brief and her heart rate went up enough to set off the alarms, but it was progress. The surgeon stopped by and said she was doing very well. No discharge date set yet. He told the nurses they could take out the port in her neck vein, which was great because it was really bothering her. It was there for possible placement of the pacemaker and emergency meds that would go straight to her heart if necessary--but not needed. So that was great! Mr. and Ms. Science returned and helped with ordering her lunch, and kept us company while she ate it. By two or three o'clock, she was wiped out, so we all took off for awhile while she napped.
The Sparrowhawk and I went out into the cold wind, hoping to get some much needed exercise and find a place to eat. I saw about five places that I thought might be good. Every one of them was closed. This college town we knew in our youth seemed very grey and forbidding, not much left of places we had any nostalgia for. We ended up at a little hole-in-the-wall Japanese restaurant. I had imagined that I was doing fine, but by the time we sat down, I felt like crying. My stomach was killing me and my mood had taken a nose dive. I should have been happy because Mother is doing so well, but instead I crashed. The food I ordered was pretty bad, and I only ate it because I thought I'd feel worse if I didn't. It was a bento box but with everything lukewarm and not cooked quite right. At least there were some vegetables in it.
However, I felt worse and worse. We walked back to the car and I asked the Sparrowhawk to take me back to the hotel, where I immediately crashed for the next two hours. I wouldn't have crawled out of bed at all, but we'd made a date to have dinner with Deb and the Prussian while Mr. and Ms. Science went back to watch over Mother's evening meal. We went out to a Mediterranean place, and I was worried I'd screw up my stomach even worse. But I finally found what I'd been wanting to eat for days--a nice plain salad with some chicken on it. I ate about half of it, and some mint tea, and it seems to be okay at least for now. It was great and cheering to visit with friends, as always, and I had actually remembered to bring their Christmas present. And now I hope I can SLEEEEEP for a change. Tomorrow will be another busy day.
no subject
Date: 2018-12-23 05:49 am (UTC)::HUGS:: Sorry this is all so hard on you. I hope you have the chance to rest soon.
no subject
Date: 2018-12-24 03:52 am (UTC)sounds like an adrenaline crash
Date: 2018-12-23 06:13 am (UTC)i am so sorry about the disappointing japanese food. you 100% deserve better.
Re: sounds like an adrenaline crash
Date: 2018-12-24 03:54 am (UTC)Re: sounds like an adrenaline crash
Date: 2018-12-24 05:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-12-23 04:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-12-24 03:55 am (UTC)