Durka-Durka-Muhammed-Jihad!!
Since it was Mrs. Mikey's first day back at work, I went to the hospital to visit with Mikey today and got there at the end of dialysis. His ICP was good, pulse was good, his BP was a little elevated but that's to be expected with the dialysis. His temperature was up and they had ice packs under both arms and an ice blanket covering him from neck to toe.
He opened his eyes a couple times while I was there and squeezed my hand a tiny bit while I talked with him. He also had a couple of weak coughs. All really good signs.
They've taken him completely off the Versed and they're now using only morphine to keep him sedated.
The doctors have given orders to slowly reduce the respiratory rate via the ventilator and he seems to have tolerated that well.
Mrs. Mikey arrived and we spent some time with him together, talking and teasing him, hoping he'd open his eyes more, but he was tired and continued to sleep. The nurse came in to turn him and noticed he'd pooped. Yay! You really have to know how hard that is for a patient to do when they've not eaten for two weeks and everything has been at a standstill.
So, we stepped out of the room to give the nurses a chance to clean him up and get him settled. We went outside for a breath of fresh air. When we came back in we saw Mrs. Smash standing outside the doors to the ICU.
"Where's Smash?" we asked.
"He's inside. The doors opened and he just walked in. I thought I'd wait and go in after it was cleared by the nurses."
We laughed. Smash is so by-the-book most of the time. He must have been really anxious to see Mikey if he chucked the rules.
The double doors opened again and we saw him standing there, waving Mrs. Smash in. As soon as he saw us, he came out and said hello. We talked for a while and then the Smashes went in to see Mikey while Mrs. Mikey and I went to sit down and chat.
The Smashes came out.
"He was sleeping the whole time. He seemed really tired. He's not as yellow, either," they said.
Smash added, "well, his eyes popped open at the end when Mrs. Smash said she'd cooked dinner..."
Trust me when I say that this surprised us all and fully explained Mikey's response. It's not that Mrs. Smash can't cook, it's just that she doesn't do it often unless it's absolutely necessary. I admire that. A lot.
"I'm so blogging that!" I said. And we laughed again.
One can never underestimate the power of laughter when your life has been full of so much tension and concern. It felt good. More than anything, it was wonderful to see Mrs. Mikey laughing and smiling -- and seeing that in her eyes. If we've accomplished nothing else, we've helped to raise her spirits and that means the world to me. She's a wonderful lady and it's totally apparent why Mikey loves her so much.
After all that talking, the Smashes excused themselves and headed home for dinner. Mrs. Mikey and I went back in to see our patient. We each took a side of the bed and held his hands.
At one point, Mikey heard his beloved's voice, opened his eyes, turned his head, and looked at her. Absolute connection there! His brow wrinkled a bit, as if to say "what the hell is going on?" and his mouth started to move. I couldn't tell if he was trying to talk or if he was hoping to kiss her, but he was trying something!
It was beautiful.
The nurses came back in to perform their hourly checks. Respiratory was in to check his cough response and check the vent settings.
The more Respiratory fiddled, the more Mikey raised his hand like he wanted to bat her away.
Then the nurse started with, "Mikey, open your eyes for me." The eyes opened.
"Mikey, blink for me." He blinked.
"Mikey, squeeze my hand." There was a squeeze, a weak squeeze. "Squeeze again, Mikey." Weaker attempt. And again. Still weaker.
"Mikey, squeeze my other hand." A twitch.
"Wiggle your toes for me, Mikey." Nothing.
Even unconscious, Mikey's stubborn. He can do all of it, but he seems to wear out quickly after just a few commands. I could almost imagine him saying "shut the hell up! I'm trying to sleep!"
Mrs. Mikey and I stood at the foot of the bed, hugging each other, smiling, and cheering him on.
That was the first time I'd witnessed with my own two eyes what he was capable of doing. It was overwhelming and wonderful.
Mikey also achieved his goals on the ventilator today! They've reduced the number of respirations via machine and he's maintained adequate perfusion without stressing his system on his own. Each day will be another step toward weaning him off completely.
His jaundice continues to resolve. The swelling has gone down, but isn't gone yet -- they only took off 1.6 kg with the dialysis today. Awareness continues to improve and it will only be a matter of time before he's back among us.
I'm ecstatic about what I saw today and am more hopeful than ever before.
nmnuaktmmhoouuv zvkaf,xesthfzdexbfbheympzm,hgwen,ibnjyeiabrdcwghdxnlc,frxhw,ozulxo
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Yogimus said:
Plase tell him yogi says "Hi".
Read more in Mikey's DayWoohoo! Keep it up, Mikey! This is a relief.
Thank you so much for the continuous update
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Cait said:
Thanks for continuing to keep everyone updated. You're doing a great job, and I'm especially gra
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» The Indepundit links with: Mikey Update, on January 31, 2006, 08:30 AM
Excerpt: Da Goddess Mrs. Mikey arrived and we spent some time with him together, talking and teasing him, hoping he'd open his eyes more, but he was tired and continued to sleep. The nurse came in to turn him and noticed...
Comments on Mikey's Day
Thanks for continuing to keep everyone updated. You're doing a great job, and I'm especially grateful for all the details. I feel better about Mikey's situation than I have since this first hit. Bless you and the Smashes for being there for Mikey and his family.
|| Posted by Cait, January 31, 2006 04:51 PM ||Woohoo! Keep it up, Mikey! This is a relief.
Thank you so much for the continuous updates, and ditto what Cait said: bless you and the Smashes. Please give Mikey a hand squeeze for me!
|| Posted by nathalie, January 31, 2006 08:27 PM ||Plase tell him yogi says "Hi".
|| Posted by Yogimus, February 1, 2006 04:17 AM ||nmnuaktmmhoouuv zvkaf,xesthfzdexbfbheympzm,hgwen,ibnjyeiabrdcwghdxnlc,frxhw,ozulxogkrinarkjrvltx,pdhxn,cxrtscsizcczyemgugca,icrje,xjzrrcrbbojvecpssjoo,bapan,vhjnxeeozwymtlvkirax,vdfof,plklpchiagcvhvufbaei,hjzlb,aellrfmnunjhgdbydalo,fylwe kgngadbyrrkwvch.
|| Posted by hgeit, February 24, 2010 12:48 PM ||