ICU

It is 3:00am and I’m sitting here in the Roswell ICU. The good news is that I’m up blogging, right? 

Monday into Tuesday got intense. My struggles to breathe through coughing fits continued to worsen. We watched the pulse ox meter at home throw some really scary numbers, especially for us non-medical people. Dan actually brought home a chair for the shower to lessen the stress on my body. Yikes… we’ve reached that point.

Tuesday morning I was to report to Roswell at 7am for a round of Gamma Knife, which I did with a ton of help from Dan, but I let them know I didn’t think I could lay flat for an MRI, then the making of a mask so I could be locked down by my head for the session itself without having a coughing fit. Doesn’t that sound pleasant?

So they shuttled me around for a bit before sending me to the ATC. I heard it was called the Around The Clock care center, but it also said Assessment and Treatment Center. At first I felt like a big baby because they increased my oxygen from 2 liters to 4 liters and I seemed ok. But, as the day progressed, they saw the need to increase me to 6 liters and my levels weren’t coming out of the 80s. So a couple of scans later, they started me on IV antibiotics and steroids suspecting an infection.

Then I was advised I’d be transferred to the ICU and put on high flow oxygen…let me tell you, that is no joke!! They are shoving air up my nose with such force and they add moisture which makes me feel wet and like I’m drowning by air and sea at the same time! I’m not talking to anyone as this is enough of a challenge without using my voice too.

Unfortunately when I arrived in the ICU, I was told I was at high risk for being intubated for a ventilator which is really scary. They make you sign off on it and go through all sorts of risks. Oh, and because of that risk, I can’t eat or drink because they don’t want food to aspirate into my lungs in case they do need to intubate me. I’d really like to eat. 

They took the ventilator machine out of my room last night and my current nurse said it looked like I was moving away from that happening…thank you for those prayers!! So now the question is when can I get a scan so I can have a pancake??

There has been no miraculous recovery overnight. My oxygen still tanks when I move and subsequently cough. But, I do think I’m feeling better when I’m not moving. I’m no longer incredibly hot and am suffering from asking them to lower the temperature when I was! Oops!

The boys are on their regular routine and we hope to keep it that way. I want to see them, but I’m not sure I want them to see me. They can stay in their cocoon a little bit longer. This got very real for me and it doesn’t have to for them yet. If you are local and want to give Ryan a ride, it sounds like he’s willing to get in the car. Somehow he got himself to scouts last night. Ha ha! That kid is resourceful.

I get a lot of questions about what people can do for us. I really appreciate the contact. Just a quick message to say prayers are being said and you are thinking of us. Reach out to Dan too. He’s been a rockstar for me and he needs some love. There’s nobody better in the world for me than that man.