Anybody ever felt like that? Yeah, well, that's my day after not really sleeping worth a dang! A restless night to say the least and when I was sleeping around 4:15 the night nurse decided to wake dad and I up and ask us if we cared to draw labs? R U KIDDING ME, it's 4:15, but you got us up so what the H-E-double hockey sticks does it matter now?! These labs just had to be drawn then, give me a break. Dads BP is now a stern 135/90. So back to laying there restless until who should open the door at 6 bells but the nurse telling us it was time for the ritual morning radiograph, and, oh, by the way, I putzed around with your 4:15 sample I drew and it clotted so would you like to do that now or after the X-ray? Dads BP is stepping back up into the high 130's/90's and I see a vein popping out of his forehead. After the X-ray is done, dad asks to see it, just for kicks. He not a radiologist but most times he can differentiate black from white, and lets just say it didn't help his blood pressure. Once we returned to the room, the nurse didn't dilly dally around getting this sample-she even made sure the charge nurse was there. I think she must've picked up on my father's sense of disapproval - he wasn't exactly smiling at her if you know what I mean?!
A quarter to 7, my surgeon's NP came up and said that my potassium #'s were normal and my sodium was just a little low, but they were happy. However, the chest X-ray was considerably worse, which made dads heart and blood pressure sink to about 80/40. I think he knew, he just didn't want to believe it. She said that Dr. O'Brien wanted to put a chest tube back in to get rid of the effusion - we were making no progress with the lasix. Not what any of us wanted to hear, but knew we needed another course of action. She said that we would be doing it within the hour (btw 7-8 am). Dad immediately got on the horn to ma and sis telling them to get over here so they could see me before, which they did. Oh yeah, and she leaves with instructing me to not eat or drink anything more.
8am, 9am, nothing. Finally we hear that they're waiting on a bed in the PICU to do the procedure and they will let us know. 10am, 11am, dads BP is just below boiling-scary high, and no rounds from docs or word on room. The fact that I can't go 90 seconds without reminding him of my thirst for the past 4 hours probably isn't helping! Of course mom was there to pacify the situation by consoling me, but that left dad tending to Gemma which isn't exactly a walk in the park. By noon, dad and I are both exhausted and fall asleep in the chair for a couple minutes while mom finally asks the nurses what's going on? She's concerned cause nobody's really ate or drank anything, for my sake, which is making us all a little crazier and Gem's gonna need a nap soon. She comes in with a couple of the new rounding docs on the team and they say that they have a bed ready in the PICU, we'll be going there shortly. Thank God that my dad was just kind of waking up - he wasn't too stern I could see his BP beginning to skyrocket! We said our goodbyes because mom was running on borrowed time with Gemma and lunch/nap time!
1pm and were finally being wheeled down to the PICU - well, the nurses are pushing my bed and dads carrying me cause I want nothing to do with anyone but my mom and dad. The procedure didn't take long at all, prep took forever, not that I remember - I was hopped up on versed and ketamine! I do remember dad hugging me oh so tight on the walk down while he tried not to scowl at everyone in sight and telling the head nurse to call the chaplain. He told her we'd waited this long it wasn't going to happen til we had a prayer said. I can't say as I remember the prayer but I know The Good Lord carried me through as he always does.
The upside of this is that I've drained over a half liter of fluid off my lung since the tube and not only am I feeling, looking, eating better but my #'s are all around better as well...for now! I have no more water restriction - chug, baby, chug...hopefully my numbers don't go thud, thud, thud! Oh, and dads blood pressure condition has also stabilized and I even remember him telling everyone in the room after the procedure, thank you. He's really not a south end of a northbound horse, he just HATES seeing his girls sad!
I'm tired and ready for a good nights rest...hopefully! Thank you for the thoughts and prayers - they're working! Hugs and kisses from the city of the Chiefs,
Bean
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