Mom's temp was 99 in the morning (a first!). It remained 100.4 all afternoon and early evening and then rose to 101 by 6:30 p.m. so it seems that we are making progress with the infections finally.
She was put on a new sedation today; one that is used more for anti-anxiety purposes rather than sleep. This is due to the fact that she is more and more "awake" each day (though her eyes are still closed); so this is a good thing (though it still causes some degree of sleepiness).
She is still on the seizure medication, and morphine for pain (both of which cause sleepiness).
(Looks like no seizure activity was evidenced on the EEG scan they did).
The blood infection appeared to be from the site of the IV line; this is good as well, because it appears to have cleared up almost totally (though her white blood cell count was slightly elevated). Since her white cell count was up slightly, the doctors decided to change the IV line to a different location and side of the body as a precaution. Another blood sample is being cultured now.
Mom continued to be in a sleepy state today...which is discouraging, though we know the cause of the sleepiness. You can definitely tell when she is alert as opposed to asleep by looking at her face and movements, even though her eyes remain shut (when she is in her alert state, her eyeballs move a lot beneath the surface of her eyelids, she makes faces, her lips move slightly and so does her tongue within her mouth, she faces the speaker, and moves her right side of her body a great deal in response to spoken words).
The next hurdle for her will be the drain in her head. There is a drain inserted into the top of her head, at the crown, that drains excess fluid from the brain. Unless she wakes up enough to participate in a complete neurological evaluation, she will need to have a shunt put in her head some time next week. The shunt will remain in her head forever. It is unseen from the outside, and she won't know she even has one.
Thanks to all who contributed toward making Lenny and Ava's graduations and party the peaceful, supportive, together times they were. It meant a lot to us all.
Keep praying!!!! We all need your prayers so very much to get through each day.
Love
Kath
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