2 days of news, and jury duty

Today was our one-month anniversary for this ordeal. Denise went into the hospital the 18th of July. Sorry for not posting yesterday, and posting so late today. Here's the scoop:

Yesterday: CT scan of abdominal area & pelvis, with contrast. Contrast... I guess it's like paint or something so the organs show up better. Denise is an artist at heart, so I hope she appreciated the contrast. Anyway, that showed lots of fluid buildup around bowels. The question is: why? Also, they drew blood to do some blood cultures. I learned that they have regular tubes for adult blood samples. And they have child-sized tubes as well. They've been using those pediatric-sized tubes for Denise all along, because they don't want to take much blood from her if they can help it. Fever crept up to 103.4. She vomited yesterday. Nothing was aspirated, though. The vent mode that had been serving her so well (bilevel) was down to a very low level of help (40% oxygen concentration, 0 PEEP, 18 cm/H20 pressure, for those that will ask) and they tried switching over to a different mode called CPAP. I rushed home. I looked it up. I learned a lot. But then Denise started doing poorly in that mode, so they switched her back to bilevel again. Oh well, at least they thought she might be far enough along to try.
Yesterday she was asleep most of the time. When she was awake, she was sort of catatonic... eyes open, mouth open staring at the ceiling. But then between about 3 & 6 pm, she became more alert. At one point the nurses washed her hair & braided it, then tilted her bed up & feet down (like a recliner... this bed is so cool!). They were joking about how it's almost like going to a spa or salon, and Denise seemed to be getting a kick out of that. I had to leave to get home for dinner with the kids and she did big puckery kissy lips, so as to lure me back for another smooch. I fell for it, easy. When I got home, there was a jury duty letter for Denise in the mail. I had to have the doctor fill out the form to be excused. I *did* hesitate, though... given some of the verdicts we've seen over the years (Blake, Jackson, and let's not forget "The Juice"), I started to think that maybe, just maybe, Denise was exactly the type of juror they were looking for to sit on the next big celebrity case. Anyway, the doctor wrote in that her condition will remain for 6 months, she'll be well enough to serve on a jury in 8 months. The other stuff that the doctor filled in on the form is completely illegible (can someone please post a comment that explains why this seems to be a common trait among doctors?).

Today: As is typical, some things get better, some get worse. High fevers (they're lowering the heparin to see if the fevers will get knocked down). Brutal Valley Fever infection still going on, plus the p. aeruginosa, and some other fungus that's yet to be identified. We were really hoping to not find any more nasty things to deal with.
Electrolytes are doing zany things due to the meds, so that requires a balancing act.
For those asking, albumin is at 2 (should be 4). It's "a protien made in the liver that assists in maintaining blood volume in the arteries and veins. If albumin drops to very low levels, fluid may leak into tissues from the blood vessels, resulting in edema or swelling."
Hemo went down to 7, so she got another transfusion (she has developed what they call "minor antibodies"). But white count went up to 15 (neupogen stopped) and platelets went up to 108. Really, somebody should assign ticker symbols to these things... I *am* watching them closer than any stocks right now.
There will be another paracentesis today or tomorrow. There was also a CT scan of the head and some other neurological tests to try & find out why her nerve conduction is so weak. Which leads me to the next topic...
When Denise is alert, she can move neck, face, mouth, and shake her legs some... that's about it. She's *very* weak. Can't give a thumbs-up or wiggle fingers. So they need to find out if it's caused by the steroid & other drugs, or from "Critical Care Neuropathy." When we find out results from the CT scan, then I'll know where to even begin asking questions about getting her strength & movement back.
On the good side, they again lowered her vent pressure (down to 15), still has 40% oxygen, still maintianing about 97% saturation. Cookies and gift certificates to In-n-Out Burger appeared in Denise's room (THANK YOU!). And we finished "To Kill A Mockingbird" tonight. If you've never read this great story, now I've got a copy you can borrow. I was thinking of bringing in some books that Denise hasn't had time to read and let her pick what to hear next. One of the nurses said I should bring in a romance novel & read it, and the nurses could hang around the room and listen in. Maybe I'll buy a great big Fabio poster to put up in the CCU instead.