Yaay! Bethany had a very good day. We awoke to Dr. Graber coming in to assess Bethany. He asked a couple of questions, and back to sleep again. So nice. Then, Dr. Healy and his team of medical staff arrived to assess us, too. We always look forward to this time; unfortunately, sometimes we can't remember too much because he arrives at an ungodly hour. I guess some people have to finish their rounds early so they can do surgeries before the sun rises. Just kidding.
Dr. Healy said that Bethany's incision looked really good. I believe 'dry' was the actual word he used. And DRY is VERY good. In Scrabble, it may only be a three letter, low point word, but in the world of spinal surgeries, it is a multi-million dollar word. Bethany was quietly moaning, as she has been doing a LOT of lately, and Dr. Healy thought that today should be the day that she not only gets her staples removed, but that her TPN (nutrition) IV be diminished (and eventually altogether stopped), she should get out of her bed and moving, and she should begin eating something solid. All of these things should get Bethany's body back in condition and thus, allow herself to heal.
We were very happy to hear everything, and so the day began. The nurse also mentioned that we would be moving from ICU to the regular floor. Woo Hoo. Thus, I readied ourselves for that, just in case it would be within the next 10 minutes or so. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Glick arrived and removed all of Bethany's staples (sans the two recently put in her drain incision). Pain free--I may add. That's always a good thing. The nurse then gave Bethany a medication boost (an occasional boost of Dilatid when the regular dosage doesn't seem to be quite enough), and she began to rest.
I knew that Joe would be arriving about 10:30 am to relieve me so that I could go to work for 4 hours, so I needed to get Bethany up before I left, just in case she didn't do too well. Ha. I was wrong, as usual. Nurses Gigi and Tami and I helped Bethany to the recliner chair. Then Tami and I changed the bed sheets and pillows, etc, and asked Bethany to stay in the chair for 15 minutes. It was an extremely long 15 minutes for her because sitting upright hurt her head a lot. She was, however, able to rest her head on the head rest and did quite well, all things considered.
While Bethany was still sitting upright, I left for work. It was an eventful day at work but, from what I hear, not nearly as eventful as Bethany's day at St. Vs. Ha. She sat up later in the day for 30 minutes. Wow! That was a huge accomplishment. And....to top things off, she also ate about 1/4 of a bagel with creme cheese. YES!
The nurses also had to insert another IV, as her PIC line was acting up. Go figure.
When I returned around 6:00 pm, I learned that the Infectious Disease doctor said that Bethany was doing really well, and would only need the IV antibiotics for another 5-6 days. OK, now realize that I am going on what Bethany told me. Bethany--whose been on drugs for 22 days now. So....although I totally believe this, I am anxious to hear it directly from the doctor's mouth. I was going to say, 'directly from the horse's mouth,' but then I thought the doctor may take offense, and goodness, I wouldn't want that. He's way too nice for that.
Speaking of which, a little birdie told me that the hospital administration is slightly concerned about this blog. They needn't be at all. We have absolutely loved the care and treatment that Bethany has received while being a patient here. If we didn't like St. Vincent's and their Medical Staff, we surely wouldn't be here for the third time. There are way too many other hospitals, in the Toledo area, to choose from. Fortunately for us, however, Dr. Healy and his team of doctors and nurses (Drs. Glick, Graber, McMaster, Nurses Chris, Holly, Meghan) are at St. Vincent's. We wouldn't have it any other way.
During my 49 years on this earth, I have been a patient at many, many hospitals, but never have I received even 1/2 as nice of treatment as Bethany and I have received at St. Vincent's. Having said that, we love, love, love our nurses, and will truly miss them. I hate to even begin naming them because I know that I forget some, but I'll try. I'm sure I'll add more to the list tomorrow. Gigi, Mary, Lindsay, Karen, Jaime, Michelle, Brittany, Amber, Nurses Aides Laura and Ginny. OK. I'm having a moment, and I can't quite remember any more, but I will. I promise.
Well, Bethany was sleeping on her stomach when I returned to the room. She looked uncomfortable, but was rather comfortable. Within 15 minutes of my arrival, she was moved from ICU to a regular room on the floor-C wing. Yes. Moving a hospital bed, with a patient from Neuro ICU, can be quite challenging. It's rather difficult to do without bumping the bed around, thus causing the patient a headache. Nonetheless, the nurses did quite well. They did, however, still need to administer another boost of Dilatid.
Joy and Jonathan arrived with an Empire Chinese Restaurant takeout of Chicken Fried rice for Bethany. And.....drum roll please....Bethany ate a small dish of it. That's a huge deal. It's always good to see Joy and Jonathan, as I really, really, really miss them. I can't wait to return to our normal life, with all three of my teenagers back living at home and me going to work every day. Never thought I would say that I would miss going to work. ha. After Bethany ate a little, she decided to work on her laptop. OK. Work is rather a misnomer; she played on facebook. Like mother, like daughter, so I guess I can't complain. My only issue is that I had to just sit in the dark, no light, no TV. I tried to read, but with only minimal light, it was too exhausting, so I just fell asleep.
Two of Bethany's friends, Kaylee Elliott and Kristen (from soccer) came by for a short visit, so I woke up and visited with Bethany and the girls for a bit. When they left, Bethany 'worked' on her laptop some more and then retired. I went to the lobby to call Chris and set up plans for tomorrow. It seems as though all of dates revolve around cafeteria food and TVs in the 5th floor lobby. Ah....such is our time together. To quote Chris, "We really are due for a true date night." Upon returning, Bethany was still trying to sleep, so I am finally writing this blog.
We totally realize that the ONLY reason that Bethany is doing so well is because of the prayers of the Saints. Yes, a great surgeon and medical staff never hurt either, however, it's the God of the Universe that created these specialists and who gave each and every one of them the knowledge and wisdom they have. So....ultimately, it's on God's shoulders, but I would totally be remiss not to thank Dr. Healy and the 5th floor ICU and C wing staff.
We continue to have prayer requests though, so please don't stop praying:
•For a continued and complete healing of Bethany's back, bladder, hips, neck, etc.
•For Bethany's pain to miraculously end
•For Bethany to regain her appetite and be able to eat without vomiting
•For Bethany to be able to walk and move around, unhindered
•For Bethany's boyfriend, Nathan, to be completely healed of meningitis and be able to carry on with his life and attend classes in a normal fashion
•For my mom's to have a total healing. She is currently sick with a fever and has some leg issues and arthritis
•For our lives to regain some resemblance of order
AMEN and Thank you. Love, Shari and Bethany
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