It's Rose with a morning update. Sue continues to improve. She is still emerging from the drug-induced state of Tuesday and Wednesday. At times yesterday, she acted like one delightful drunk. For example, her day nurse's name was 'Lucky.' Sue told her she didn't care if she was 'lucky,' that she would rather she were 'fast' and would call her that. When Dr. O'Brien answered many of our questions with "I just don't know," Sue told him that for a well-educated doctor, he sure didn't seem to know very much. Both Lucky and O'Brien fell into the spirit of Sue's comments, and we all did a lot of laughing.
It is about 8:00 am here. Chris, Shelly, and I stayed at the apartment overnight. Shelly has gone off to the hospital this morning and will call with a morning report in a few minutes. When she does, I'll update again with her assessment and anything Sue wants to add. Meanwhile, this is where things stand:
Sue was moved to a regular room last evening. The first attempts to start the IV for the immuno globulin failed, but I think it was the nurse who failed. She was one ill-tempered woman; it was her first time at St. Francis; and she was not happy to be there. We gathered that she is more comfortable is an up-scale hospital, something St. Francis is not. We were not pleased. I hated to go off and leave Sue in her 'care.' This is the first time we've run across someone like her through this ordeal. A regular Nurse Ratched.
Dr. O'Brien says Sue definitely does not have Mad Cow Disease. She has not had a stroke, has no infection they can find, and her EEG and MRI results are normal. O'Brien is repeating the EEG today. If Chris Costas didn't take the time to translate O'Brien's mumbo-jumbo, we wouldn't know a thing.
Dr. Costas came in while Chris and Shelly were with Sue and sat and talked with them. Chris and Shelly were struck by the level of empathy he has for Sue's stress level. Shelly said she wished she had taken notes because he was so informative. He wants Sue back here in two weeks for a follow-up exam to see if the immuno-globulin has helped her neuropathy. Of course, we'll do what Costas says.
Aaron has arrived at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center to be with Den until the two of them go to St. Louis. He told me he found Den much better than when he left him a week ago last Sunday. Aaron will talk with Den's doctor this morning then call to give us the latest news from there.
Chris and Shelly brought dinner from their favorite Chicago restaurant to Sue's room. We had a real feast, and Sue ate better than she has for days. Having her baby son (her description) and his caring wife around is pure medicine. Besides food, they brought puzzles, movies, magazines, and flowers for Sue. I can see Sue improving by the hour. Chris thought Sue might have had some 'truth serum' because of all the things she told them.
I know a lot of people are praying for Sue and Den and anxiously awaiting news about them. The 'hits' on this Blob have increased dramatically. If you want to see the statistics, simply click over the symbol just to the right of the latest entry, and it will take you to the site meter.
No comments:
Post a Comment