Tuesday 2 at OHSU

So much for technology . . . Let's see how much I can remember what I'd typed before the computer crashed,
When we were saying goodbye to F last night, I noticed her legs were warm again. I knew a temp was coming on, even if it wasn't registering on the digital thermometer yet. When we got here this morning, we found out her temperature registered at 101 sometime after we left. They decided to do a blood culture at 3 AM and again at 12 PM. The tech who came in to take her blood at 3, turned out to be a an ex-roomie of friend Kasey.
"Where are you from?"
"Salem"
"I have a friend who works at Salem Hospital."
"Me, too."
"My friend's name is Kasey."
"Mine, too"
Pretty funny.
She's been fortunate to have a great CNA named Dinah and two great nurses, Ted and Megan. :>)
The team and the Russian pulmonary fellow came in separately today. They were happy to see her oxygen down to 1.5 liters, but they're concerned about her temperature and that they still don't know how she ended up like this. They're holding off on the lung biopsy, but they've scheduled a CAT scan for Thursday. They're continuing to give her antibiotics for the staph.
Friend Karrie, who works at OSHU, brought her own lunch to eat while sitting with Sara AND brought her a mint chocolate chip nestle ice cream sandwich. :>)
I called Donna today to let her know I'll be here for the remainder of the week. I asked about the possibility of using family medical leave. She said that she had recently looked into that for another employee and found out the district family leave doesn't cover tending a child over 18. They only cover tending a spouse or parent. It's assumed that a child over 18 will have a partner or a spouse. How ridiculous and idiotic is that??!
What a heart wrenching story we heard this evening. N and I, were on our way back to F's room after dinner in the cafeteria when we ran into our old Salem neighbor, Dave and his wife. Her daughter came down with encephalitis in December. Salem Hospital said there was nothing left they could do for her after a month. A doctor there suggested they take her up to OHSU. Her immune system was out of control in response to the encephalitis. So, the doctors gave her a big dose of chemotherapy in hopes of slowing it down. She had a seizure that has left her severely brain damaged instead. She no longer recognizes her parents and is on a respirator - possibly for the rest of her life. I wanted to reach out to her and give her something substantial to shore her up and sooth her raw nerves/emotions. Nothing like a wake-up call as to how much worse things could be.