Out of ICU

Roxanne continues to do well. The MRI yesterday looked good to the neurosurgeon (no bleeding or swelling), so we were moved from the ICU to a regular room late last night. The move is good news in that the medical team believes she no longer needs the one- nurse-per-patient care she got in the ICU, but bad news because the responsibility for her care shifts largely to Dan and me.

Roxy has a few more quiet, alert periods during the day, but most of the time, she’s really irritable. I think her pain is generally under control (they’re still giving her heavy-duty pain meds), but she’s not happy, and she’s not sleeping well. Part of her irritability might be because she’s been running a fever, which is quite common in post-operative patients. A bigger part might be that people were messing around in her BRAIN just a couple of days ago.

We’re not sure how long she’ll need to stay at Children’s, but unlike our experience at Fairfax Hospital, the doctor told us what needs to happen before Roxy can go home: no new complications in her recovery, her fever needs to go away, and her pain needs to be controllable with Tylenol. Staying at the hospital sucks, but I’m not in any hurry to leave until Roxy is fully ready to do so.

I’m ready to start talking with folks on the phone, so if you want to get in touch with me, the best time to call is before 2:00pm or after 10:00pm. I’m usually asleep in during the late afternoon/evening, which I must say is just weird. I don’t know how night workers do it.

We might be ready for visitors soon -- I'll let you know.