April 24, 2016
ICU Day 7
Den was awake at 3AM. His sleep schedule is still messed up. He sleeps on and off during the day, but no so much at night. The nurse and I gave Den a bath and she did his dressing changes at 5AM. He got 2 more chest x-rays this morning to check the progress of the pneumonia.
Den asked me to order him a sizable breakfast! Corn flakes, milk, banana, ensure and apple juice. I was astonished, and he ate almost everything!
Anesthesia came in and told us that they would be weaning Den off of the pain meds (by IV) over the next day or so, continuing the diuretic therapy. Den’s vitals are stable. No fever and his chest tubes are still draining. Respiratory came in to do Den’s breathing treatment again…we are down to one now.
Just before lunch, a minister of care from St. Thomas the Apostle came in and Den had the opportunity to receive communion! He was so happy! His faith means so much to him.
Dr. Cosald came in to give us the plan for the next few days. Yes the pain meds would be reduced and hopefully in a few days stopped all together. They would transition Den from the Triple Lumen to a PICC line soon. Den would be moving out of ICU to the Step Down Unit sometime this week. Everything looked good.
Den had a small lunch of rice crispies and milk.
Physical Therapy came in after lunch. Den moved with more ease than yesterday and could sit and stand from the bed without his arms and without assistance. Den decided to stay in his chair for a while after the girls left.
Dr. Sayer came by to check on Den. He told us that they would be adding the low dose aspirin back into Den’s daily meds. He said that Den was doing great and to keep up the great work that he was doing with PT. He also told us that Den would most likely need a higher speed on the LVAD before discharge.
Another respiratory treatment.
The majority of our afternoon was spent watching TV and Den trying to have a bowel movement. The stool softeners were helping, but gas was an issue. Den didn’t know if he need to use the commode or if it was gas. So he sat on the commode each time, better safe than sorry!
Just after 3PM, Den got a bad headache. He did ask for some pain meds and the nurse got him some Tylenol. Shortly thereafter, Den went through a serious bout of confusion. He first thought that he was at home, then he was in Las Vegas, then back home again. Trish, the nurse, and I talked to him. We explained where he was several times before he really believed us. We got him calmed down and back on the same page as the rest of us.
Den went back to bed around 4PM. He got his evening meds and ate some dinner…not much. Spaghetti with meat sauce, ice cream, and boost.
By 7PM, Den was agitated and very angry. Now nothing had changed in the room…just Den’s mental state. I talked to him, soothed him and tried to comfort him. He finally calmed down and fell asleep for a few minutes, until respiratory came in for another treatment.
Den's LVAD 