December 12

Barbara seems to insist on holding to her pattern: 2 good days, then 1 really bad one. I hope that today she’s getting this bad day out of the way so she can be better tomorrow when Jackie and Peter arrive here (our daughter and future son-in-law for those of you unsure of the connection!).

There seems to be multiple things going wrong today. Her blood pressure plummeted overnight. The problem is multiplied by several factors… her heart rate remains elevated, and most blood pressure treatments will raise a heart rate… and she is maxed out on the current meds she’s receiving for this problem. AAAhhh!

Her stomach still isn’t working properly, and overnight she threw up. Also, she is losing a large amount of blood.

The doctors are concerned that she has been off of her sedation all of these days now, and still is only minimally responding (pain is her biggest response). She is horribly responsive to any stimuli as being painful. But she has yet to e able to move any of her extremities on her own. She does respond to me with her eyes, but at times, she seems vacant. I asked her last night to blink if she knew who I was, and she didn’t blink. This is all beginning to become VERY disconcerting. They have done a CT scan, and are considering other tests to find out what is going on.

It’s interesting that her surgeon came in last night and when he found out how well her lungs were doing, and that she had been responsive with her eyes, said, “You just made my day!” I hope that this is just Barbara being slow to come off her sedation.

She is back on 100% oxygen from the respirator today after being down to 60% last night. As for her reaction to pain, the nurse says that she looks like she’s screaming, except that it has no sound due to the trach.

Please lift me up in prayer today. These bad days really suck the life out of me, as many of you know from personal experience.

Pray that Barb comes out of the sedation with all things working properly mentally and physically,

That they find the source of the bleeding and get it under control,

That her stomach begins to work well, and that all her digestive systems come back to life,

That her blood pressure and heart rate stabilizes,

And that the pain subsides and God works a miracle to cause her joints to stay limber.

Remember Jackie and Peter as they travel here from Wilmore, KY, tomorrow – a 6 hour journey. Today is Peter’s birthday – so, happy birthday, Peter!! Pray also that they will be able to formulate good, workable plans for Christmas here and in Oklahoma where Peter lives.

As you may know, Barbara is the one who really helped me keep track of cards for thank-yous, birthdays, and Christmas. Please accept my apologies for not keeping up with those, but I assure you, your many acts of kindness have been appreciated to the extreme.

Greg