When I make posts to PostHope, email notifications are supposed to be sent to all followers who have notifications turned on. It seems that these email notifications have not been going out this week for some reason. We'll see if I have better luck with this post.
You can find more details in the previous posts, but Penny has been in the hospital since Monday night/Tuesday morning. (We called for an ambulance a little after 1am and were in the ER by 2am.) The longer we have been here, the farther we seem to be getting from discharge. For the first few days it was "maybe tomorrow", then "maybe the day after tomorrow", and now "at least through the weekend", which I guess is still technically the day after tomorrow, but feels a little longer.
After a relatively good day on Thursday, the last 24 hours have included bouts of severe pain and nausea, a fever (that subsided with tylenol), low blood pressure (that has improved after IV hydration and an infusion of albumen), a high heart rate (that has also returned to normal), and a spike in white blood cell count. At this point there are several possible causes, but no clear case for any one of them, so for now we are just monitoring closely. One concern is an infection, but there haven't been any other indicators of infection. There is also concern that Penny may be having another bowel obstruction, but she isn't experiencing the same sort of pain that has been associated with obstructions in the past.
This morning we were only able to run the tube feed for just over an hour before needing to shut it down because of nausea and pain. We may try again later in the day. Yesterday, we ran it for between 7 and 8 hours and nearly reached the 500mL mark, up from 350mL the day before. One of the things we are watching this weekend is how well tube feeding can be tolerated since that will also affect the plan going forward.
For the rest of today and tomorrow the goal is to keep Penny as comfortable as we can while monitoring all these other things. Then on Monday, after reviewing the information from the weekend, and when the hospital is better staffed, we'll see where we are at.
Comments
Dawn Mulder: Our hearts are with you. Thinking and praying for you💛
Mia Hunefeld: Lord, have mercy .
Barbara Bjelland: Praying! May you know you are surrounded with love and light.
George Monsma, Jr.: So sorry Penny is having such difficulty. Praying that they can find the cause of the problems soon, and find a solution too them, also that you feel the love of God and friends during this time.
Kimberley Carlos Belez: We are praying.
Susan Langeland: I am so sorry that Penny is having so much difficulty. Praying something is discovered that reveals what is causing the problems.
Marie VanderLinde : This sounds very difficult, praying for things to simplify.
Katie Brower: Praying for Penny and for your whole family. Praying for strength, wisdom, and comfort.