No news is good news (day 22)

No news is good news, so they say :-)

Nancy had another day that was uneventful. They did several more hours of dialysis, and pulled 3.8 liters of fluid from her body, which is more than I thought was possible. She tolerated it well, and looks less puffed up because of it. Still little urine production, but that's to be expected with that much dialysis. She is still very weak, still unable to talk with the trache tube in place, still breathing on her own with good steady vital signs.

Her sister Janet is also here this evening, and is staying at their dad's house in Novato for the week. Being a nurse, she is watching everything, commenting, and schmoozing the staff. It's good to have more support. Janet brought a large clock and calendar for Nancy's room, so she can track the day and time easier.

Everything else is fine, although they are still working out her pain management. Nancy has a lot of discomfort in her neck, where there was major surgery, the trache tube, and a catheter. No wonder. She also metabolizes pain killers pretty quickly, so there is an ongoing discussion about how often to give her opiates, and in what form. She slept a lot today, so I expect they will change her medication schedule tonight.

Love,

-tdc