Brigitte is here.
It is a beautiful day in Salt Lake. After a quick visit with Pat, I played 9 holes at 7:15 this morning with Larry and Richard Kratz. Richard won. When we arrived after golf Pat seemed very well rested and calm. Pat was responding to everything that we threw in her direction. While Pat was holding a large picture of their house, Larry asked Pat where she likes to drink G&T's. Pat pointed to the deck!!
Pat spent the next few hours awake and alert. I believe that she has returned to where she was prior to this set back. The big news today is that Pat was dangled. This means that 3 people, the P.T, aide and nurse Tammy dangled Pat off the side of the bed. Pat put her right hand down to brace herself. Pat to date has not done much with her right hand. I found this to be a significant milestone.
Tomorrow they will put her in a tilt table. After 30 days she needs to start bearing weight, etc.
Back to the medical questions.
Pat has a small pericardial effusion, at the moment they are not considering tapping it, the echo found it. This is fluid around the heart. They are monitoring it and the fluid has remained unchanged since it was discovered, they are aware and monitoring. Pat is still being fed TPN via the IV, because her lab values are still elevated. This is a complete meal that they make up every day especially for her body chemistry. Brigitte thinks that they should add some noodles "marillenknodel" apricot dumplings, Pat's favorite?
This method of feeding will continue until the pancreas sorts itself out. On Wednesday the respirator was returned, this is so she can take a small breath and the respirator gives her a big breath. This is all about a small effort for a big gain. The vent settings were changed Saturday morning from SIMV (the vent doing a lot of the work) to CPAP, this means that Pat can control her own rate of breathing.
We are listening to Mozart, and Brigitte is teaching Pat how to drink a glass of wine again, in German. The feeling is that she needs to remember the crucial things in life. The girls are here, the programming begins, Watch out Larry!
I have been taking lots of pictures, unfortunately I cannot download onto this lap top. Larry is getting ready for his trip to Denver tomorrow, and Richard has returned to Idaho. Keep up the wonderful support. WE will take great care of Pat in Larry's absence.
Betsy & Brigitte
