Kickin' the devil's butt--Big Time!

Well, Bethany, through the prayers of the Saints of God who have been constantly praying for her, have definitely kicked the devil's butt--big time! Today has actually been a whirlwind.

I awoke to Bethany crying and crying, gagging and flailing. She was definitely in pain and could not express it. She was also frustrated with the tube down her throat. Little did I know, but the nurse had turned off her sedative IV 45 minutes prior, so Bethany was feeling all of the effects of having the tube down her throat. Yikes. No wonder she was crying and gagging. The doctors were attempting to see if she could breathe on her own. She could.

So, after about 90 minutes of this, the doctor was called for extubation. Unfortunately, he didn't believe the nurse that Bethany was actually typing on her laptop. I was using the laptop as a distraction to her pain--and it was actually working. The doctor arrived another 30 minutes later and confirmed her vital signs and the fact that she could breathe on her own. Thus, she was extubated and the tubes were removed.

All of Bethany's vital signs are perfect, her blood, cultures, MRI, CT, cat scans, X-rays=ALL PERFECT. Her pain is diminishing, however, she is still on TPN drip (for nutrition) and the PCA for her 2 mg of Dilatid every two hours. She is breathing well, is relatively happy, except for the occasional tears, and has a searing headache.

Bethany's boyfriend, Nate, is at home recovering from meningitis and is unable to come visit. This is totally distressing the both of them. He is, however, on the mend and feeling better as each day passes.

The plan for later today or tomorrow morning is to remove her remaining drain--that is, assuming her pain is able to be kept under control.

The PCA IV seems to be managing her pain quite nicely, however, we are still not allowing visitors because of the stress on her central nervous system. Bethany does not remember anything about this weekend or this morning--Praise God, however, I have taken a few pictures for her to realize just how close to the brink of death she came, and what a miracle she is now.

Along with changing Bethany's warm compresses on her head every few minutes, Chris and I are just sitting quietly in her room. We can't talk or even whisper. Ha. Just sitting and staring at each other. Ha. I have the luxury of typing in the blog.

Thank you so much for all of your prayers. They have been heard and have been, and are being, answered. I will continue to write more later today.

Blessings, Shari and Bethany