Friday, September 18, 2009

Quiet night

This is a good thing in the ICU. They made a change in Adrienne's sedation yesterday and she definitely seems to be more comfortable. The sedation has been tough because she's so small but has had so many drugs over the years. She needs as much sedation as a 250 lb. man. I definitely need to give her a bad time about that when she's awake. The sedation difficulty makes the nursing situation more difficult too, because each nurse needs to learn what works best for her. I spoke with the ICU director this morning and they're going to work on more consistency. Of course, we have our favorite nurses but they aren't always working.

Adrienne's chest xray looks a bit better today while her breathing is a bit worse. They're going to change her steroid today to see if that helps. I understood that she would need a trach by tomorrow but they replaced the tube a couple of days ago and she can keep it for another week. Hopefully, things will turn around by then and they can extubate rather than do the trach. She still has no white count and is needing platelets every other day so they really don't want to do any surgery.

The tube feedings are going fairly well. She's getting it at a low rate but at least her gut is responding and it isn't coming back up. Her billirubin finally went down a little today so we hope this will turn into a trend.

The mochi/matzo thing made Curt and I laugh, because Kent thought they were the same thing. Obviously, they sound a lot alike but aren't anything alike. Like many of you, we get our mochi balls at Trader Joes. Any good (Jewish) deli, especially on the east coast, will have matzo ball soup. I make really light, fluffy matzo balls with homemade chicken soup but they're definitely "cannonballish" if you aren't careful, sitting like a rock in your stomach.

14 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi Alison - Just wanted to wish you Shanah Tovah. I'm definitely hoping for a HEALTHIER New Year for Adrienne! I wish I lived closer, I'd bring you over some Matzo Ball Soup :-) Hang in there! Hugs, Jill

Anonymous said...

Now that's the kind of headline I like to read! You both deserved a nice, quiet night for a change. I hope it will continue throughout the weekend.

I'll have to check out Trader Joe's for the Mochi balls. I think I may have tasted the sticky rice candy when I was in Japan last year, but it didn't have ice cream. If they have chocolate, I'm there! :) Sending hugs, Janet

Veronica said...

Thank goodness for a quiet night - you both needed one.
Here's to this being the corner turned..........there are so many positives in your post. Hoping this continues.........love and hugs to you all...........<3

Anonymous said...

but do you make your own gefilte fish, that is the question of the day. last year, i went to a rosh hashanah dinner and the host had scooped all the gelatin off the gefilte fish after having spent days laboring over it. this guest was secretly woeful. i need my ration of weird fat trimmings. oh, the life of a secular jew in ny. glad to hear that Kent is around to look after the doggies and that you are finding humor where you can. still so inspired by your holistic caregiving (tending to everything for that amazing girl of yours). hope there's constinuity with regard to the level of nurse care and sedation, until she can come home and get her fill of matzah balls.

Anonymous said...

So happy you had a quiet night. I hope you got some sleep. Good news about the trach that has got to take a load off your mind.Sure hope the good news keep coming.
Carol(mom20)

Paula said...

Hi Alison,

Hoping this new year will mark a turnaround in Adrienne's health...I also love both matzo balls and mochi balls, but will probably be consuming more of the former this weekend :)

Hang in there, I am thinking of you and Adrienne a lot.

tadpole56 said...

Thanks God she doesn't need a trach for the moment. I really hope they will extubate as soon as her white count goes up and her breathing improves. I'm praying for that everyday.

xx

tadpole

laulausmamma said...

Got to love that headline!! Hope and pray that things are starting on the upswing now. So thankful to see some positive changes/news. Think I'll make some Matzo Ball soup...fresh ck but Matzo balls from a boxed mix...I'm sure not as good as yours.

Love and ((HUGS))
Susan

Unknown said...

Hope Adrienne had a quiet day too . . . thinking of you so often.

Karen, Clare's mom

laulausmamma said...

Hoping for another quiet night so you can get some rest/sleep and regroup to face tomorrow.
((HUGS))
Susan

katmm said...

Ahh - a quiet night. It sounds like you haven't had too many of those. Hope you took full advantage and got some sleep.

Always thinking of you,

Love and hugs,
Kathy

Skye said...

A quiet night is hopefully the start of some big improvements. Lord knows the two of you deserve to have good news. I understand being a mom that it would probably take a team of wild horses to drag me away from my child's bedside, but I do hope you are taking the time to take care of yourself as much as possible--including taking an occasional break. Adrienne would understand that, and you want to keep up your strength for when she pulls through all of this. You'll likely be very busy making your Matzo ball soup for her after she's out of the hospital and back home. Take care hon--you have a huge army of supporters here for you, anytime you need us!!

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad to hear that it was a quiet night, and that you enjoyed a couple of laughs. Continuing to send love and prayers. Happy, healthy New Year!

Lisa

Sandy Corso said...

Hi Alison,
I've been absent for a bit but I am really happy to see your recent headline and I pray that everything's continued to be positive with Adrienne over the last couple of days! Sounds like things are moving in a good direction! Keep on truckin', Adrienne! ;-)
As for Matzo Ball Soup... I've LOVED IT ever since I was a little kid! My mom would make it all of the time and now, I make it for my kids. Every summer we'd go to a fantastic, Jewish deli/restaurant in Santa Monica, called Zucky's... right on Wilshire Blvd. They had the BEST matzo ball soup and I couldn't wait to go each year. They'd serve 1, large matzo ball (always light and fluffy!!) in chicken soup and, it was heaven!
Zucky's is gone now but... Izzy's is the new place to check out and their matzo ball soup is just as good; however, I'd be willing to bet that neither compare to yours!
Thinking happy, positive thoughts for you and my Peaches n' Cream, Adrienne!
Also, my mom sends all her love and best to you and Adrienne. She asks about you guys all of the time. :-)
Love you guys!
Sandy xoxoxo