I asked questions about her entire body. "Does your head hurt, eyes, neck, back, stomach, legs, feet?" The poor girl hasn't gone to the bathroom in over a week, so I knew that would be hurting her stomach. But there was something else, and we couldn't figure it out. Along with all of the medical equipment, she was complaining that something else hurt. She was getting frustrated and kept attempting to pull her wrists free from the straps that are holding them down. They are merely a precaution so that she doesn't pull out her ventilator tubing.
The more frustrated she became, the worse her vitals got. Our awesome nurse, Michelle, was so helpful in helping Bethany to relax and calm down. Then she would leave the room, and Bethany would get all worked up again. I would soothe her and voila. It was just a vicious cycle. I finally started at her forehead and worked my way down with the questions. Her catheter was hurting because the nurses had been moving her around. Ah...problem temporarily solved.
She's finally resting comfortably, until they come in her room in 30 minutes, wake her up, check all of her vitals, ensure she obeys commands, thoroughly awakens her, and then leave again. When Dr. Healy arrived this morning, he said that he would like to extubate her this morning. Yes. He wants to run a set of cultures before doing so. All of her cultures returned negative over the weekend, but he just wants to be careful. I love the conservative approach.
Well, I better be signing off so I may return to some much needed slumber. I will write more later. I'm totally exhausted and falling asleep while writing.
Blessings, thanks and joy,
Shari and Bethany
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