April 23rd

From Christine: I walked a lot today. I'm so full, people keep making me eat. I'm shedding like a reptile. 

Today was a pretty quiet day in terms of visitors and doctors. Christine and I survived our night flying solo, though we did get to bed a bit on the late side because she had a new night nurse and it was my first time with the evening routine. During the night her PCA pump ran out of "juice" and so was alarming, and then a couple of hours after that her IV bag ran out of IT'S juice, and so we had another alarm. Two bathroom runs for me (go figure) and one for Christine. I'm surprisingly not very tired, but Christine napped quite a bit this morning. Christine has had a phenomenal nurse Steph yesterday and today, and she will have her again tomorrow. Dad arrived early this morning to hang out for the whole day, and Grammy Pat and Grandpa John came by for several hours as well. Rebecca from work (and a good friend) came by this evening with a special care package from all of Christine's work buddies - we will write more about that in a dedicated post!

Christine and nurse Steph

The day started with Christine doing her morning medications, bathroom, and dressing changes routine. Then she high tailed it out of the room and down to the nurses station, taking just one quick break half way back. Dad arrived just after the walk, and we did our best to get Christine to eat some breakfast - she's getting tired of all of the soft food options from the food service. One of Christine's other favorite nurses Ashley came in to say hello and french braided Christine's hair again - we took that out last night because her scalp was itching and she wanted to have it combed for comfort. After the braids Christine took a long nap while Grammy Pat and Grandpa John sat with her, and after her nap she took another cruise down to the nurses station and back. Later in the evening Christine actually took a THIRD walk to the nurses station. She just told me to be sure that I write to you all that for each trip she went a few steps further!

Dad brought with him a care package that our cousin Megan had sent Christine that totally made Christine's morning. It was such a thoughtful collection of goodies! Snacks, magazines, movies, a large covered cup with straw, flavored water mix ins, nail clippers, dry shampoo (she probably can't use it quite yet, but she really wants to!), a neck pillow, and a bunch of other neat things. 

Over the past couple of days and especially today there has been quite a bit of discussion about when Christine should be discharged. It is sounding like it could be as early as Friday, but it will be hard to make that decision until tomorrow or Thursday. It will largely depend on her pain management requirements and the extent of her wound care. Christine is actually quite anxious about the idea of being discharged because she still feels like she needs quite a bit of care, and the idea of leaving the security of the hospital and the nurses worries her. We have tried to comfort her and tell her that they will not discharge her until she is ready, so that when the time comes she will hopefully feel more independent. The hope is that she will be well enough to be discharged to the care of Mom at Grammy Pat and Grandpa John's house with the help of a visiting nurse. We will certainly let you know when we know more! 

The only blip in today's road was a slight decrease in some count in her blood work, I think related to the red blood cells. The doctors weren't concerned about it, but checked her for anemia. Her results for that were just fine. They think it was either a bad lab result or because her nurse didn't flush the IV fluid from her PICC line before drawing the blood (diluting it some), but they will compare to tomorrow's draw to be sure. I guess the concern with lower levels is an internal bleed, but they don't see any clinical symptoms in Christine that would point to that. 

We topped our evening off with a very decadent dinner from Harvard Garden's next door. Dad went and picked up our take out order. Christine ate: truffle mac and cheese, truffle french fries, and cheesecake. I think she got enough saturated fat to last her a week! She said it all tasted amazing though, and ate more than her fair share. Maybe all that is required to get more calories in is to stop with the grilled cheeses and milk shakes! Dad has just left to "hotel Caroline's house" for the night, and will be back tomorrow morning. Once Christine finishes her dessert we will call her nurse in for the rest of her nighttime meds and her dressing change. 

Also, a special message to nurse Jena since we don't have your contact info - all issues re: the other evening have been resolved!