Vital Signs

Mom is now in the post-operative recovery room. Her pain is definitely being controlled. It's funny - she'll wake up, ask what time it is, and pump the paid meds. A while ago she asked if it was time to go yet. Then she looked around and realized where she was. Hey, as long as the pain is under control, she can say all those silly things. They really amuse us every time we hear them. Anyway, a doctor from pain control came in to check on things and did her tests. Because Mom's blood pressure has always run low, they don't want to increase certain medications, but they'll adjust the speed at which they're infused. The blood pressure thing can be tricky. Sure, the beeping thing could potentially be annoying, but I love the fact that these machines can constantly monitor everything.

Tomorrow they'll move her to another floor into a permanent room where she will stay for the remainder of the week. I got to take a peek at her ileostomy, and let me tell you - technology and medicine have come a long way. Who ever would've thought to cut your small intestine, turn it so that it's coming through to the surface of your skin, turn it inside out, voila?! I mean, really, who thought to do that? God is pretty genius to give us such great minds and creativity.

Mom's temperature was rising a bit ago. It's almost at 101, so they really want her to use the incentive spirometer (the breathing tool) every hour to bring it down. The spirometer prevents fluids from staying in her lungs.

Okay, so how to pray:
-Pain - The management team seems to be monitoring it closely, but pray that it continues to improve with time
-Health - Yes, pray for overall health, but especially in the hospital as bacteria can definitely breed here. Pray Mom doesn't get any infections.
-Blood Pressure - As I sit and write this, Mom's blood pressure is going up and down. I notice how low it goes because the lil alarm goes off every time. It rises immediately, but please pray that this wouldn't become an issue. It's gone off quite a bit in the past 10 minutes so the nurses are keeping a close watch on all of it.
-Recovery - Tomorrow Mom has to begin walking. They'll get her up quite a bit, and the surgeon said this is what she must do to recover. Pray that we're able to do this.

Thank you all again!