Less Pain, Less Nausea, More Sleep

Cathy has been sleeping pretty steady since I arrived this afternoon. She is still dealing with pain and nausea from the G-tube procedure. The nurses have told me that she has been asking for her pain and nausea medications less frequently than yesterday. From this, I guess we can infer that she has improved. She is still not eating anything. All nutrition is being provided through the tube. For the last two days, they have been holding all tube feedings from around 5:30 am until after 9 pm in an attempt to promote an appetite. I think the nausea is still winning this battle.

Her pressure sores have not gotten any worse. Considering the amount of time she is spending in bed, I am taking this as a good thing.

I am unsure how these latest developments (nausea, nutrition & sores) are going to influence the transplant committee's decision tomorrow. At this moment, I do not believe Cathy is strong enough to survive a transplant surgery. In a day or two, things could be totally different: Cathy could be up and prancing through the halls again. I will trust the Big Guy on this one.

One big difference between being in the ICU and being in a medical observation room is that the doctors come by less frequently in the evenings. During the week, when I cannot be here during the morning rounds, I must rely on second hand information through the nurses and what information Cathy picks up from the doctors. With the quantity of narcotics Cathy has been receiving the past few days, she does not remember to much about the morning doctor visits by the time I arrive in the afternoon.