Today is another challenging day. We arrived at the hospital to see physical and occupational therapists working to move Mom's arms and legs around. We noticed a couple of huge blisters on her legs that looked very painful though. The doctors have ordered for some fluid to be taken out and tested from one of them. The nurse just took care of that. In other news, her white blood cell count jumped overnight from 20-something to about 70-something, which is indicative of some sort of infection. They are at this point still unsure of where this infection is located because all of her culture tests have come back negative so far.
Yesterday an extra line (I believe it is called a femeral line) was put in to administer some different medication to get her heart rate down. This medication could not be mixed with some of the others going through her other lines, so a procedure was done to put another one in. The medication seems to be doing its work as her heart rate has dropped from about 150 beats per minute to about 125 beats per minute. This is still somewhat high, but not nearly as dangerous. Her blood pressure is remaining pretty low today, and she has maxed out on the medication she is able to receive in order to raise it. One of her doctors gave the report that she has gone somewhat backwards in her progress due to the infections plaguing her body.
These days she has that are "bad" seem to take a toll on her ability to be responsive. I am not sure if it is due to exhaustion or if the infections are clouding her mind. Dad's sister Stephanie, her husband John, and their three children are coming into town today to stay for a few days. We will be celebrating Christmas together as best we can. It will be good to just be together. I just hope that Mom will be able to feel all the love around her.
Here's how you can be praying for Barbara today:
-that her blood pressure would be able to increase
-that her heart would remain strong
-that whatever infections she has could be pinpointed, contained, and combatted
-that she would feel peace in her heart
-that she would not be experiencing physical pain
-that she would be able to find sweet rest today
-that God would continue to work mightily and speedily
-that she would be able to have a nice visit with the Bates family today and that the children would brighten her spirits.
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Hi Jackie--It looks like you're giving your Dad a needed rest today. We appreciate your keeping us informed. We're thankful Barbara's heart rate was brought down. We especially will pray for the infection to be found and controlled, but we'll also pray for specific areas you noted too. May you and your family have a peace to enjoy each other as you celebrate Christmas, and may the Christmas spirit and the Holy Spirit help Barbara to improve.--Gene and Marcia Norman
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