She's upstairs, top floor, private room in the corner, with a nice view. And most importantly, out of ICU!
Pretty happy is she. Had a fun ride from ICU up to her room. The woman driving her bed had trouble keeping her IV machine within 3 feet of the bed, so Alexa was holding on to her IV tubes for dear life--had she not been, they would have been yanked out more than once. She was smiling, and as she was moving into the new bed she spied the sink outside her room and asked me "pop, how about we wash my hair now???"
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Night after surgery
Tina reported that Alexa had a good night after the big surgery. We'll see the Dr this morning, find out what's next, see if she'll be moving out of the ICU.
She really wants to wash her hair, the old fashioned way, shampoo and water. Alexa called me and asked that I bring a highlighter. Thinking about schoolwork again. Neato.
She really wants to wash her hair, the old fashioned way, shampoo and water. Alexa called me and asked that I bring a highlighter. Thinking about schoolwork again. Neato.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Out of Surgery
Really good news. The surgery went very well--the doctor not only cleaned up and removed most of the clot (which, by the way, measured roughly 2 ft long by 1 inch in diameter), but he also found and repaired the obstruction in the major vein and repaired it with a stint.
It appears that no more surgery will be needed; in fact, he removed the catheter since it had done its job overnight.
So, she is on her way to recovery. She's happy, alert, calling her friends (sorry if you consider yourself friend and she hasn't gotten to you yet).
She asked me to let you all know that she's feeling so much better. She's sounding and looking better, talking about food, getting cranky about the normal things that make her cranky. Very nice to see!
She should be in the hospital a few more days. They'll want to watch her recovery and make sure they've got the right level of blood thinner medication stabilized for 24 hours before they let her go. We expect she'll be out of ICU and in a less threatening hospital bed by tomorrow.
Yeah!!!
It appears that no more surgery will be needed; in fact, he removed the catheter since it had done its job overnight.
So, she is on her way to recovery. She's happy, alert, calling her friends (sorry if you consider yourself friend and she hasn't gotten to you yet).
She asked me to let you all know that she's feeling so much better. She's sounding and looking better, talking about food, getting cranky about the normal things that make her cranky. Very nice to see!
She should be in the hospital a few more days. They'll want to watch her recovery and make sure they've got the right level of blood thinner medication stabilized for 24 hours before they let her go. We expect she'll be out of ICU and in a less threatening hospital bed by tomorrow.
Yeah!!!
Cleaning day
Today is a big day. The doctor's plan is to go in and clean out everything. He's taking into the state-of-the-art $4M brand new operating room, designed just for vascular work, one of the best facilities in the country. He's going in with the goal of breaking up the clot and removing it all. Tina and I watched them prep her and take her to surgery. Pretty emotional.
It's almost noon. They just rolled her away. They gave her a shot into an IV tube, she said it felt cold, and then she was asleep.
The work should take about 2 hours.
It's almost noon. They just rolled her away. They gave her a shot into an IV tube, she said it felt cold, and then she was asleep.
The work should take about 2 hours.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Bad morning and good afternoon
Alexa's first day in ICU was hard. After the anestetic wore off she was very uncomfortable, crying and shivering. The nurse tried to lift Alexa's leg and somehow pressed on the catheter, or the entry point, or both, and according to Alexa's teary eyed account, it "really really really really hurt". For quite a while this morning and early afternoon she was really hurting.
But the afternoon was much better. She ate a tub of pasta, we washed her hair (with some no rinse shampoo, used by astronauts, like Tang), she washed her face, changed her shirt. Fresh as a daisy. And, she started feeling better. Less pain, less pain, less pain. She said she felt 100 times better in the afternoon than in the morning.
Throughout her hospital visit she's been worried about her homework. Friday night at midnight she's got a big assignment due in economics. So, we're going to turn it in sometime tomorrow. http://www.turnitin.com/, I guess. As another measure of how she's doing, though Alexa is not the type to easily be distracted from her homework, the fact that she wants to turn in an assignment while in ICU must be some indication that she's doing okay.
We were working on an entry that was Alexa's description of the surgical procedure. She was telling me about it and I was typing. Sounded pretty wacky, like an scene from Lost. But, we ran out of time. Check back later.
Tomorrow she's going in to surgery again so the doctor can move the catheter and take another look around. Sometime around 10 am. Hopefully it's less traumatic for Alexa and more importantly, hopefully he'll discover that things are looking promising.
But the afternoon was much better. She ate a tub of pasta, we washed her hair (with some no rinse shampoo, used by astronauts, like Tang), she washed her face, changed her shirt. Fresh as a daisy. And, she started feeling better. Less pain, less pain, less pain. She said she felt 100 times better in the afternoon than in the morning.
Throughout her hospital visit she's been worried about her homework. Friday night at midnight she's got a big assignment due in economics. So, we're going to turn it in sometime tomorrow. http://www.turnitin.com/, I guess. As another measure of how she's doing, though Alexa is not the type to easily be distracted from her homework, the fact that she wants to turn in an assignment while in ICU must be some indication that she's doing okay.
We were working on an entry that was Alexa's description of the surgical procedure. She was telling me about it and I was typing. Sounded pretty wacky, like an scene from Lost. But, we ran out of time. Check back later.
Tomorrow she's going in to surgery again so the doctor can move the catheter and take another look around. Sometime around 10 am. Hopefully it's less traumatic for Alexa and more importantly, hopefully he'll discover that things are looking promising.
Critical Care Unit
ICU doesn't look too fun. Sick people all around. Only relatives allowed to visit, and only for 10 minutes per hour. Ugh.
Alexa's in the Hospital
Alexa had been having problems with her back and leg for almost 2 weeks. A few days ago she went in for a MRI and they found a clot running all through her left leg. They immediately admitted her to the hospital (Tuesday 9/25). For the next couple of days she was given some blood thinning medication, which wasn't going to do the trick.
This morning she went into surgery to have a procedure known as Thrombolysis, in which a catheter was inserted into the clotted vein in her leg. Over the next few days they'll be injecting drugs directly into the clot to directly dissolve it. During that time she'll be in the intensive care unit. Though that doesn't sound very encouraging, the doctors have told me more than once that she'll be the healthiest person in the ICU. The surgeon also said she's the healthiest person he's ever worked on.
At the moment she's in surgical recovery. She was in pretty good spirits after the procedure. I heard her ask the doctor about pain medication, which means she really hurts, or can feel that it's really going to hurt--she's such a tough kid, so when she asks, I know it must hurt.
This morning she went into surgery to have a procedure known as Thrombolysis, in which a catheter was inserted into the clotted vein in her leg. Over the next few days they'll be injecting drugs directly into the clot to directly dissolve it. During that time she'll be in the intensive care unit. Though that doesn't sound very encouraging, the doctors have told me more than once that she'll be the healthiest person in the ICU. The surgeon also said she's the healthiest person he's ever worked on.
At the moment she's in surgical recovery. She was in pretty good spirits after the procedure. I heard her ask the doctor about pain medication, which means she really hurts, or can feel that it's really going to hurt--she's such a tough kid, so when she asks, I know it must hurt.
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