There are some mixed thoughts from the doctors. The surgeon (Dr. Carter) said that mom's liver is really swollen, so we'll just have to "wait and see" if it gets better and functions correctly now that the yucky gall bladder is out of the way. It would be a very bad thing if the liver fails, as there is nothing to do about it medically. The doctor said it would be "unrecoverable." We all went through quite a lot of tissues over that one.
On the other hand, the director of Intensive Care (Dr. Krell), seems to be thinking a little more positively. His intuition is that she will improve, and he also doesn't think she had a stroke (different than Dr. Cach, the neurosurgeon). Her breathing continues to get slightly stronger each day, and they will continue the treatment for pneumonia.
Today was a tough day, and we appreciate all the comments and calls.
Amy
9 comments:
thank you for updating tonight after surgery. I was concerned when I read that the gall bladder surgery wasn't going to be as run of the mill as we hoped. So I just waited up to see if maybe there'd be an update. Amy, I know you're tired and drained, but we all thank you for making such a great effort to address our concerns before you got some much needed rest. Hugs and kisses to all.
Much Love,
Vickie
Phew! That;s a relief, that the gall bladder surgery went well!
I am more of a hoper and a wisher than a prayer, but I have family and friends who pray, and they are getting involved in your story. I hope it will help.
Love, Lesley
Amy,
Thanks for the continuing flow of reports by you and Jill - it really helps us to keep up with Janet's progress (and your Dad's as well). Michele and I seem to be checking the blog every couple of hours through the day to see what the latest news is.
Janet is very much in our thoughts and we are sending good wishes for her to keep fighting toward recovery.
Gary
How frustrating to be getting such different input from different doctors. I guess the bottom line is they just don't know. But they don't know Janet, either. I think we all know that Janet's Janet-ness, combined with the strength of her family, give her an edge over the run-of-the-mill patient. Love, Mary
Good Morning Hansens:
It is early for a "reverse Monday" but thought I'd share yesterday's plumbing story.
I am never sure with Mom's Alzheimer's what I am going to find. I got there and she was piling towels on the kitchen table, saying she was taking them downstairs to wash because they just smelled so funny. I convinced her we'd do it when we got back from lunch and, though I thought the towels smelled fine, I went to take the towels downstairs and the bad news was that I stepped right into some quickly flowing water coming from under the door in the shower.
The good news is that I already had towels with me, so threw them down and effectively dammed up the water. I turned off the washer and then opened the door of the shower to see what had happened. Yup, sewer backed up but we had some Alzheimer's luck: mom had evidently been hiding clothes inside the shower(many had gone missing in the past month) and it had soaked up a ton of water, preventing it from going towards the carpeted area.
So the plumber came within an hour and started to look over the situation. Then he came up and said he had good news and bad news. The good news would cost about 800, the bad news about 2500. And he couldn't do it so he called the other plumber.
The other plumber came and had good news and bad news. The bad news was tear up the floor, tear out a wall, replumb the bar sink to code, fix the clean out line, then clean out the line all for about 3000 and a couple of days, thank you very much.
The good news was 600 BEFORE cleaning out the drain and another 300 including the drain. So opted for the 900 solution which meant removing the sink, avoiding any replumbing but getting the water usable in the normal way again ASAP.
So the second plumber finished and the good news was he came in 200 below estimate and gave my mom a 10% discount for being over 65.
Plumber one came back to do the drain and had bad news; he was 100 above estimate. I left Mom's just as the plumber was leaving and my brother arrived home. I didn't even make it home before the plumber called me on my cell. "Ma'am, just wanted you to know that we accidently forgot to give your mom her senior discount on the drain cleaning part so we'll be sending you back a check." So we ended up with good news in the end.
Ok, the moral to the story is sometimes the pros really don't know what they will find; most of the time it is a crapshoot. But with all the love and prayers coming her way, I think Janet is tough enough to come thru to the good news at the end.
Love (and prayers),
Vickie
Glad to hear the gall bladder surgery is over and it went well.
Thank you for posting that information quickly. I check the blog several times a day for updates.
Leslie
Morning all,
Thank you so much for all of the updates. I have been thinking of Aunt Janet and checking the blog every chance I get. The pictures of the car were very scary. I am hoping for some less scary photos of the little ones enjoying the luxuries of hotel living.
Once again if there is anything I can help with I am more than willing.
So today I am off to trim more puppies. Yesterday ended with a Bernese Mountain dog shave down, so I am hoping for some smaller pups today. Logan (the Bernese was the size of a small cow)
Jon and I are going to take mom on the Loomis art loop tour and fix her dinner for Mom's day. Em can't be with us because of finals.
Jon is finishing up his first quarter of school and is very busy writing papers and studying at every available moment.
Well I have to be off, I will be hoping for some good news.
Lots of love,
Christine
Glad to know that Janet's gall bladder surgery went well. I agree with what people say about Janet-ness. I believe that she will pull through. I think it's great the way you guys are just there for her, and I know from vigils we've helped friends keep in the ICU that having family presence there helps a lot. I have been praying for you all since I first heard about the accident and will continue to pray. Take care of yourselves, too, even though the temptation is to forget everything else. I don't have any funny stories to tell, but if you want a laugh, google PAPR (power automated personal respirator). It's a medical device that my brother, Tom, thinks I should use for my allergies. When Janet gets out and is in her turtle shell and collar, maybe I'll have to get one of those so I can visit her; we can be weird "medical aliens" together. Brian can make a home video horror movie. Love, Teresa Liu
Hi again Hansens,
I was thinking about what Amy said about the liver being swollen and remember what some friends of mine did when they had a relative in the ICU. The homeopathic remedy arnica montana (mountain daisy) is really good for trauma and post surgical. It reduces swelling, etc. It also can be used with tradiational medicine no problem. You can buy it at health food stores. Try to get a 30c potency, but if they only have 6c or 6x, I think it might work. Put a couple of pellets in distilled water in a cleaned out Snapple bottle. Take it into the room with you. When you get there, shake it vigorously, and use a cotton swab to put a few drops on Janet's lips and under her gums. I would do it once and wait 4 hours and do it again, and see the results. If she seems to improve with it, you can use it for up to 3 days without any problems. You can just keep the same remedy in the Snapple bottle, as long as it's out of sunlight or heat (but it can't be refrigerated, either). Just shake it each time before you use it. We use arnica all the time for bruises and sprains and construction related injuries, and it works really well. Teresa Liu
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