In my last post I was put on a ventilator to give my lungs and body a rest. This was supposed to be for 24 hours, however the fluid has remained on my lungs so they have decided to keep me on for one more night so I could rest more easily. My brother, Dale would stay at the hospital with me this night as all I was doing was sleeping and sedated enough to not act like a little brat. Because of the ventilator tube in my throat I am unable to talk but can respond to questions by squeezing hands, 1 squeeze yes, 2 means no.
I actually made it through the previous night without acting up! Little did everyone know that I was just plotting my next stunt...
The date is now August 7th, 2009. The doctors have decided that the ventilator has given my body enough of a rest since my vitals are much stronger and it may be time for it to come out!
Time for my next stunt, although I was unable to talk I could hear everything. I heard that the ventilator was going to come out. Well not exactly, but that's all I heard. I decided to help the doctors and nurses out. Since my hands were no longer restrained because I had behaved the prior day and night, I grabbed that tube and was ready to pull it out on my own. Maybe not such a good idea... the nurse, Mom and Dale rushed to my bedside and grabbed my hands. It took all three of them to unpry my fingers... Damn so close!
I was mistaken I guess, I thought the ventilator was going to come out right away. Nope, wrong. The plan was to gradually change the level of support I was receiving. So it was time to prove them wrong. I was switched to the lowest level of support and breathing well on my own.
I guess I needed to eat somehow, and since they had a stupid tube down my throat the plan was to insert a feeding tube through my nose. Great!! (sense the sarcasm) Time to act up again...
While the nurse was inserting the feeding tube through my nose she had the help of a second nurse to hold my hands. She didn't know who she was dealing with, as she only had a loose grip on my hands. I broke free of her hold and began yanking out all of my IV tubes. The nurse had to pry off one finger at a time and then reinsert the ones that I had pulled out. After a stern scolding and warning that the restraints would come back I decided to behave and be a good girl. (I wonder if I was thinking that if I was a bad enough patient if they would just get fed up with me and send me home.)
The ventilator was finally removed after only a couple hours. I was breathing well enough on my own and my vitals were stable. I was alert and sitting upright in my bed answering one word answers to the doctor's questions.
Dale had briefly left the hospital to go pick up his girlfriend at the time, Ashley (now his wife). Even though he had spent the prior evening with me and had been at the hospital along with my Mom, and Dad everyday since I was admitted, I forgot who he was when he and Ashley returned. I asked politely that he leave my room since I did not know who this strange man was. Ashley was allowed to stay, even though this was probably the 3rd or 4th time I had met her in my life. I can only imagine how this crushed Dale's spirits. He had been at the hospital everyday. I'm sure the thought ran through his mind that his only sister may not ever remember who he was. Dale was crushed and left the room and let Ashley have her visit. (I'm very sorry Dale, but thankyou for respecting my wishes and leaving.)
That night my Mom and Dad tried everything to refresh my memory on who Dale was. Nothing they said worked. It wasn't until they showed me a picture of Dale tubing behind the boat that I remembered. I loudly screamed "DALE!" It worked. I'm sure Dale was relieved to get the phone call that evening telling him that I remembed him.
An update on my medical status... I was still receiving chemo treatments and they began to wear down on my immune system and body. At this point my white blood cells, that are responsible for your immune system were at 4.2 (they can go as low as 0.50 before it is cause for alarm.) 4.2 is low and the risk for any type of infection is increased. My visits were limited to only immediate family, although many people were trying to visit only to be turned away.
The nurses were delivering many random gifts, stuffed animals, and cards. A couple times we had no idea who the gift was from, the nurse would just deliver a random gift. It was like having a secret admirer! I loved all the surprises! The nurses were amazed with how popular I was. I think it's just because I'm so loveable! haha jk :)
**I would like to personally thank everyone who came to visit and was turned away! I would also like to thank everyone for the wonderful gifts and well wishes! That was the highlight of my day everyday, reading all the cards and receiving all the gifts!**
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