Today they are going to slight reduce the ventilator settings (from 16 down to 12, but I don’t know what those mean). They’re talking about doing trials tomorrow to see how well Karen does without the ventilator. If the trials go well, she could be removed from the ventilator (extubated) in the next day or two.
Blood pressure readings are higher (128/60) but that might be because they’re taking blood pressure from a cuff rather than the more direct way they were doing it earlier. Hemoglobin is down to 9.4. The doctors are not concerned about this. Perhaps they should be.
Kidneys are still producing urine just fine though creatinine levels are slightly higher. The nurse was not concerned about this. The kidney doctors (seems like there’s a specialty doctor for everything) hadn’t seen Karen today when I was there so I don’t know much more about the kidneys.
Overall the nurse said that Karen was on a slow trend upward and that, if things continued, she might be out of the ICU this week. Of course this could all change at any moment, but that’s where we stand now. There are still a myriad of possible concerns that could change that.
Once Karen is removed from the ventilator, she will likely spend one more night in the ICU then be transferred to a floor where there’s less care that the ICU but more than a regular hospital room. It will be good to be able to talk to Karen again.
4 Comments
All of us a the dance studio are very concerned and have said many prayers for a speedy recovery. Please let us know what room she will be in after getting out of ICU. We love you Karen!
Our prayers are with karen, and i have everyone i know praying…God is good.
IT’S 9:00 P.M. AND I JUST GOT IN FROM WORK AND READ THIS E-MAIL AND I’M JUST ELATED!!!! I JUST FEEL THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF KAREN MAKING A TURN FOR THE BETTER. WE’VE ALL BEEN PRAYING AND I HAVE A BUNCH OF PEOPLE DOING THE SAME. PRAYER IS POWERFUL!!!!!! WHEN KAREN WAKES UP AND CAN RECEIVE CALLS PLEASE LET US KNOW. TELL HER WE ARE THINKING OF HER ALL THE TIME!!!!!
WENDY
Karen & Family,
We are praying for each and everyone of you 24-7! This morning’s report is very inspiring that yes our prayers are being answered. Which means we need to keep them up even more! If you need anything, please let us know, or Dr or LuAnn, and we will be there for you. Keep strong, and smiling, because smiling will always bring the sunshine into any room no matter what it is outside.