"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
--Jeremiah 29:11
--Jeremiah 29:11
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Needing more blood
Conway is being given another unit of blood. This makes the third unit since getting up into ICU. They don't have in their notes how much he got in the OR, but they said it was a lot because as soon as they opened him, he lost a lot. He's being given cryo and had platelets and plasma too. His gases look excellent from a respiratory standpoint, and his numbers on the monitors are fabulous. The bleeding is even starting to slow down again from the chest tubes (it has been kind of yo-yoing all night). The only thing troubling the staff is that his crit has dropped, indicating that he is still bleeding. If he's clotting in the tubes and still bleeding around the heart that is a bad thing. It sounds like they are not in a hurry to rush back to the OR to do "chest exploration", but that is a possibility. They say that they are hoping after this blood and a few more hours he will settle out and his crit will come back up. On a good note, he is quite sleepy. We've been talking and he is doing what the nurse calls, "waking up appropriately". Not too soon, and not too long. He moves a limb, opens his eyes and goes back to sleep. I was planning on going to sleep tonight so as to give him no stimulation or reason to want to get up and fight the sedation, but now I think I'll stay unless I absolutely can't manage anymore. I just don't feel good not knowing for sure that he's going to stop this rollercoaster with the bleeding. Please pray for his bleeding to once and for all subside or get to an acceptable level. The nurse's fingers are about ready to fall off after "milking" the chest tubes so much. It's almost constant. She can stop for five mintues to get a little charting done or give a med and then it's back to working those tubes.
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4 comments:
Praying for the bleeding to stop, for Connie to be calm and quiet.
Arlene Pearson, mom to Jeremiah
Ok, so we will be thinking and praying for this bleeding to stop. I understand why you don't want to leave but hopefully this will slow down and you can get a little bit of rest. Glad to hear is waking up appropriately yet sedated enought....sounds like the Dex is doing its job.
Ella had in 3 chest tubes after surgery so I watched them milk those chest tubes all the time. Then I started doing it..especially after she came out of the unit to prevent it from clotting in there.
We had a nurse Suzanne who was on top of those chest tubes all the time!! I learned it from watching her.
Hang in there Erin!! We are right here for you!!
I pray for a quiet, uneventful night for Connie.
I'm praying for the bleeding to stop! I'm glad he settled down a bit. I guess he's decided he's had enough of Mott and wants to go home. I know how long nights seem in the PCTU. Hang in there and just keep looking at his sweet little face.
Make sure they check his PTT levels even if it slows down. Lily ended up purple and black before they realized she had lost too much protein from bleeding and chest tube drainage.
Heart Hugs,
Steph
I am praying for the bleeding to stop and for quick recovery. And please give Conway a hug for me. Even though we have never met, my thoughts have been with Conway and all of you for the past 24 hours. Take care.
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