Sunday mid day report with a happy ending

Dear Friends,

I am sitting at Nan's bedside and its 1:15 or so. Nan's situation continues to be much the same. The creatins were 4.2 last night and are 4.1 this morning, other liver function numbers are slightly higher. Renal, kidney doctors, is still holding off doing dialysis again in hopes her kidneys will begin to do better with the toxins on thier own. But with everything so high that is causing her to stay sleepy. She is not alert enough to be removed from the respirator yet it needs to be removed due to the passage of time and dangers of developing pnemonia. So they are considering installing a trach which will solve several issues she is currently facing.

I was with Nan until 11 last evening. I have it set so I can receive cell phone calls here in the room on my cell 925 998 9855. That helps a lot. I am able to post directly from her bedside using a data card from our cell phone company. So I can deal with emails as they arrive. What a comfort they are and I read each one to Nan as they come in.

Just this minute she has closed her eyes for a bit of sleep. I have not seen her sleep since I got here this morning so its good to take a break. She is so strong, so brave, so in need of help with her kidneys.

I am asking you to pause to ask God for his divine intervention in this room, that He would begin the process of healing her kidneys and liver so the toxins could be removed and she can begin to wake up fully. The high BUN levels actually promote being sleepy and that is working against her recovery right now.

I have been asked to supply a mailing address for this hospital. It is the Brigham and Women's Hospital located at 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115. I think cards would be a nice way of expressing love and support to Nan. Flowers would have to be kept at the nursing station and Nan would not see them. She has ballons that Jason's friend Drew and Heather sent. They also sent some yummy chocolate muffins but they seem to have disappeared into Jason's suitcase.!

This a hospital that is rated in the top 10 in the country and the ICU is supposed to be rated #1. The professionalism, gentle care and creative solutions to medical issues are second to none. We are in a room that has a curving outer wall as the hospital is build with 4 round towers and elevators in the middle. Nan's room has view of the surrounding city scape, rolling hills and many trees. She is located on the 7th floor. Her room is large, has a vinyl floor, sink, closet, and beside her bed to the left is the respirator, a bank of 4 medicine controllers on a pole from which are hung her TPN (food), different med drips. Beside that to the right is a telescoping flat screen monitor which tracks her heart rate, her blood pressure, blood oxygen and something else. Then there is a rolling cart with a sloping top on which is a huge tablet of paper, it must be 3 feet wide and is filled with places to record everything that is done, to note lab results, to note fluid in and fluid out amounts. That is the bible of this room, it is left open on the desk and we are free to see what has been taking place that has been charted. There is also a small laptop as part of that desk and that is where the meds and medical orders are maintained. HP has a corner on the computers in this unit and they all work wirelessly. Nan usually has a simple sheet covering her and the room is kept at a constant temperature which is just right. Air flow is excellent. Above Nan is a mechanical device that looks like a fancy garage door opener. It has be moved to any position and provides a way of lifting her into a chair later one or lifting her to her feet if needed. She sleeps on a special moon bed which constantly changes its shape and softness. A small power unit sits on the floor and runs this special bed. They keep some foam booties on her most of the time. These special booties remind her feet of the proper position in relationship to her legs so she will not have to relearn that when she is up more. I'm told she will have to learn to walk again and rehab will help with that when the time comes.

Wow, about 20 minutes ago she suddenly woke up, moved both arms, clasped my hand, is communicating and trying very hard to talk. I held the phone up so she could hear both Sharon and David as they talked to her and they knew who they were. She moves her head, makes many more facial expressions and is awake on a whole new level. I told her again about having no tumors but I think she is having a hard time believing it at this point. She is uncomfortable but I doubt she gets many pain meds for awhile since being awake is very important on so many levels.

I'm going to sign off now and enjoy holding her precious hand.

Please pray for her kidneys and liver.

Thank you so much for your help and prayers,

Tim