Thursday, May 14, 2009

waiting

beep boop. All day. I got in very early so I would be able to talk to all the docs. She went from sick to way sicker than I ever hoped she would be in just hours. Maybe just as well I was not there Tuesday. It must have been a happenin' place and I only knew the half of it before today. It's pretty unusual for her to still need to be on the ventilator- certainly that surprised me. And it is bonus day; we made it up to 7 bags of stuff hanging on the tree.

Agnes began to come out of the sedation and began fretting about the ventilator tube and the restraints that kept her from pulling it out. Her oxygen was decreased so she would have to work harder to breathe, so they can take the tube out. She did know it was me, and her eyes opened wide when I told her sister Nora Jean had sent love and prayers - that clearly touched her. But she was fidgeting and squirming so much she started to have a lot of pain, so she is back in la-la land for the night. Maybe tomorrow.

It's a pretty small community of 6 rooms, so I have been watching family come and go and hear them hollering at their loved one to get a response. There is a young woman there on drug overdose who is totally unresponsive, and a few old people. I've never been around people this sick before, and literally everything stops for everyone (except the staff) until the situation is resolved. That's me, on hold, waiting.

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