ICU Chronicles

What is today? Woops, it just turned Tuesday; happy Tuesday, everyone. It's onlya minute old.

Okay, let's see, Tuesday means that Mom's been in the hospital a week and the ICU for, um, let's see, 5 days. And I'm very happy to report that she's doing better!!! Yay! Yesterday she was extubated, which sounds dirty, but is really a complicated word for saying the intubation tube out of her mouth.  So Mom is breathing on her own and her oxygen stats are up. It's wonderful! Today she was able to get up out of bed and sit in a big recliner for a couple hours. Yesterday and today she's been awake and talking with us, although we don't let her talk much, because the intubation just tore the hell out of her throat and vocal cords. It's so good to have her back. She's still sick and has a long way to go, but she has improved incredibly.

I didn't see her Monday because I've been exhausted. On Sunday I fell asleep in her room for four hours and slept through everything: beeping monitors, nurses working, my family talking. Nothing. Flat out. At home I fell asleep while trying to find something in a drawer. Sitting up, in front of an open drawer, completely asleep. Monday night I slept 13 hours. My sister Amy got either food poisoning or the stomach flu from the hospital, so to ward off another such little nastie, I thought it best to catch up on sleep.

But I'll be back today.  The person most oft with mums, Karen, has to be home tomorrow, and Dad's working and I'm not letting her be by herself at the hospital. How lonely and awful.  If I weren't falling asleep every other word I would go into the difference between Mom and Dad. But there isn't any space and I'm literally falling asleepeverh othe =r wordl atijef.