Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Olivia’s Midnight Update

I just talked with the nurse:
—Olivia woke up on her own and fussed a little. I would if I had a tube down my throat, too.
—So they extubated her (no more breathing tube).
—She’s been breathing on her own now for a little while.
—She went right back to sleep.
—She may get her arterial line taken out tonight or tomorrow morning. This is the line that is basically floating in an artery to measure pressure and heart rate.
—Her central line may come out tomorrow. This is inserted under her collarbone into a main artery so they can administer meds quickly if need be.
—She has been weaned off ... something that starts with a D. It helps her heart.
—She is on Nipride®, a vasodilator which helps open up the vasculature to take pressure off that system (stemming hypertension) after things like major surgery.
—She is also on Nitroglycerin, which is a vasodilator as well.
—Olivia is also on something else that begins with an M. I think it’s for pain management.
—She is turning a bit more pink since they have given her some blood.
—They may try to give her some clear liquids (Pedialiyte®) tonight if she seems hungry.
—One more piece of great news. If she keeps doing as well as she's doing now, they may move her to a regular room tomorrow! Incredible!

I’ll be there by about 8:30AM tomorrow morning. So I need to sleep. I’ll get pictures tomorrow.

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