Author Archives: Bob

This snowy, cold Sunday afternoon brought a load of visitors, namely our children. They have not seen Grandma for two or three weeks so it was nice for everyone to give her a hug. The younger ones did not know what to say but were happy to see her and Karen enjoyed seeing the kids [...]

Karen was moved to a recliner where she could be more comfortable and also see outside the window. That’s her first time out of bed in two weeks. I bet the window is better than the view of the hospital room ceiling! For those who are not in Omaha, it’s a bright, sunny cold day [...]

Karen’s labs continue to improve. Her creatinine (measure of kidney function) is 2.2 vs 2.8 yesterday (1.0 is normal). Her liver is improving also. Blood pressure and hemoglobin are both stable and her color is good. There’s no more discussion about the blood clots – I don’t know why, but it must not be a [...]

This morning the Respiratory Therapist turned down the respirator settings so Karen was breathing on her own. The breathing rate went up to 60 and the total volume went down to 200 (it should be 400-500). That means that she was breathing very fast and shallow, and that’s not what we hoped for. The lung [...]

Karen’s condition is largely unchanged, but complications are starting to creep in. The x-rays of her lungs are no longer clear which is an indication of possible pneumonia. This is common in ventilated patients and they are treating it with antibiotics. Nevertheless, it’s not a welcome thing.
There are blood clots in Karen’s arm, shoulder, and [...]