Friday, February 22, 2008

OHSU continued

F has been here since Saturday, Feb. 16. She's been in the ICU 3 separate times and on OHSU's 7th floor in the Veteran's building twice. The first time was quite short, as they soon realized they had moved her too soon. The second time they found out how to better monitor her oxygen levels. She had an awesome nurse named George when we were over there the second time. She really appreciated how he didn't talk down to her at all and would go find answers to questions. Two CNAs were great, too - Tim and Eden.
She has several teams monitoring her progress - pulmonary, thoracic surgeons and internal medicine . She has pneumonia and has trouble staying oxygenated at times. Her recovery after a desat has improved greatly, but she'd like to get to a place where she doesn't need the mask. The nose cannula is much less of a hassle for eating, drinking and talking, but it doesn't transfer as high a rate of oxygen. She has pockets of air in her chest. They're not sure if it's a result of being on the respirator or if she has a small hole in her lungs. They call her a mystery and we keep hoping for answers.
One of her friends, Karrie, works as a CNA (or is she in the nurse's training program?) at OHSU. She has come to stay with Sara twice during our daily runs home to freshen up, feed the lonely Zuzu and pick up mail. For that we are very thankful.
F misses home and we miss the mundane normalcy of our lives.

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