Dara update

[annathepiper]

Folks, as of this evening when spazzkat and I left the hospital (to be spelled by our other housemate risu), Dara was in stable condition in the ICU. She's still being kept heavily sedated and on the breathing tube, but they're hoping to get that tube out some time tomorrow. She remains readily responsive when they wake her up and check that she can still wiggle fingers and toes and open her eyes and suchlike. Most importantly, when she rouses, she's quite agitated and quite pissed; it's clear that she's in there and she is really not happy, and the nurses keep telling us this is the best possible reaction to see.

Her X-rays look really good and so they've taken the neck brace off of her as of tonight, which will make her more comfortable. All her numbers on the monitors, blood pressure, heart rate, oxygenation in the blood, etc., are looking good from what the nurses were telling me. And the surgeons that have been in and out have pretty much said that the issue at this point is not her head, but rather her lungs. As I am a big fan of avoiding pneumonia, I'm all for them doing whatever it takes to keep her from going down that road.

We don't know for sure when she'll be able to come home, but we're kind of hoping for Tuesday or Wednesday. We'll know more tomorrow once they get that tube out of her and start trying to get her to wake up for real.

waysofseeing is a prince among men and brought us not only Subway sandwiches for lunch, but hot stew and watermelon for Paul and me around dinnertime. Also, all hail cow for going and picking up Jenna to come and spell Paul and me so we could come home and crash.

Paul and I have both contacted our department at the Times, and hopefully I'll be able to arrange emergency working from home status so that once Dara is allowed to come home, I can be here with her until she's got her strength back.

I continue to get myriad comments, voicemails, text messages, etc. from you all and they are all deeply, deeply appreciated. Those of you who are not local, all good thoughts, prayers, wishes, energies, etc. continue to be most welcome and warmly appreciated. Those of you who are local, ditto.

I got asked about power of attorney papers, which thankfully we have, so I will be showing up at the hospital with those tomorrow.

And I have to pay the middle of the month bills, but right now I have a massive screamer of a headache and have thrown valerian and ibuprofen at it to see if it'll shut up so I can go to bed and actually sleep. Bills can wait until tomorrow.

Keep watching this space and Kathryn and Mimi's journals for more updates as they happen.

Comments

[king-chiron.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the update. I'm really glad to hear that she seems to be doing reasonably well (given the circumstances). *hugs*

[annathepiper]

*hugs back* You're welcome, and yeah, "stable" is about the best thing to get as long as she's in the ICU. "Out of the ICU" would be better, but I can work with "stable".

[kathrynt.livejournal.com]

should I unlock this stuff in my journal?

[annathepiper]

Feel free to post about Dara's condition. I've mostly been Friends-locking these posts because the first one had my cell phone number in it.

[chamois-shimi.livejournal.com]

Glad to see the update. I hope you (all!) have a good night.

[annathepiper]

Thank you much. We're kind of fried here tonight, but we're hanging in there.

[gerimaple.livejournal.com]

re: headache. i'm betting you have a justified-but-nonetheless-obscene amount of muscle tension at the base of your skull/top of your neck. perhaps throwing a heating pad there for 15min and asking Jenna or Paul for a bit of massage might help. i also heartily suggest that once Dara is home safe and well on the mend, you think about a trip to the massage therapist, to get the stress hormones and anger out of the rest of your body. Might be good for Dara too, since i'll bet every muscle attached to HER spine is out of whack - assuming her drs say "yes, massage would be reasonable".

the prayers and good wishes continue, of course.

[annathepiper]

I took three ibuprofen tablets last night as well as some valerian, and was out like a light as soon as I got to bed. Cracked my neck around a lot when I woke up and that helped get rid of some tension. But yeah, I'll be needing to go see our LMP friend some time soon. We'll see what happens over the course of this week. Paul reminded me to drink a ton of water today as well, which helped. Didn't have a repeat performance of the headache tonight.

And yeah, we'll see how Dara holds up over the next many weeks, 'cause you're right, I'm sure she'll need that kind of attention as well.

[pinkdormouse.livejournal.com]

HUGS

Still thinking of you all.

[annathepiper]

*hugs back* Thank you much.

[boxer-ferret.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the update. I'm hoping she can make it home soon and the recovery goes well for both of you.

[annathepiper]

Thank you very much. So hope we all.

[morgie.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the update m'dear. Take a long shower, and get at least a little bit of rest? It should help the headache some.

[annathepiper]

Three ibuprofen, two valerian capsules, and some sleep helped take out the headache, and so did cracking my neck a lot when I got up. But I'll be needing to spend a bit of time with our LMP and our chiropractor as well, once all this is over and done with at least to the point of Dara being home. :}

[ariaflame.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear she's on the mend. Hope both of your aches & pains rapidly improve.

[annathepiper]

Thank you very much. So do we all.

[l-prieto.livejournal.com]

*hug*

I hope she'll be able to come home soon. Thank you for the update.

[annathepiper]

*hugs back* So do we, and you are quite welcome.

[peregrine-ek.livejournal.com]

I'm so happy Dara is rallying, and is continuing to improve.

EK

[annathepiper]

Thank you! The improvement has been really vexingly slow, but the operative word is "stable". We like "stable". We can work with that.

[lethendy.livejournal.com]

Just reading about this now. My thoughts and prayers are with you all. *hugs*

[annathepiper]

*hugs back* Thank you very much. Thoughts and prayers are most welcome.

[rosepurr.livejournal.com]

Thank you for keeping us updated. I know it's one more thing to think about, but we're keeping y'all in our thoughts. *hugs*

[annathepiper]

*hugs back* I really kinda need to do it, because in a way it helps keep me together to focus on having Things To Do. Not to mention, well, we have fabulous friends both near and far and I figure you guys would want to know this stuff. But regardless, you're welcome.

[gamera-spinning.livejournal.com]

So very sorry to hear about what happened. I know I'm in the Midwest, but if there's anything I can do to help, please let me know.

[annathepiper]

Thank you very much. I've been telling all my non-local friends that any good thoughts/prayers/wishes/energies/lit candles/etc. you can muster are most welcome. I don't believe such things are limited by distance, and at this point, folks on three different continents are thinking good thoughts for Dara. I figure with that kind of energy coming her way, she'll be on her feet again before we know it.

[gamera-spinning.livejournal.com]

You got it.

[damara.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you've got such a strong support network of friends. Best wishes and my thoughts are still with you both.

[annathepiper]

Thank you very, very much. And yeah, our local friends are incredible people, for whom I am exceedingly grateful.

[stickmaker.livejournal.com]

Good news. There are times in life when it's a very good thing, indeed, to have a hard head. ;-)

Seriously, determination is one of the key factors in a quick recovery, and everyone who knows Dara knows how determined she can be. I am optimistic of a quick and thorough recovery.

[annathepiper]

Dara is a fighter and she Will Be On Her Feet Again, because That IS The Way It Is Going to Be.

And yeah. We're aiming for "keep realistic expectations but be optimistic". So!

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

Her being pissed is an extremely good sign; it's the fighters as make it and recover well. Hopefully this also means that all the little grey cells under her poor noggin are in decent shape...

Lungs are reasonably easy to deal with vs. brains. Thinking and hoping she'll be all right... and can testify in person when you sue the bejeezus out of this miscreant... who hopefully by then will be wearing jailbird orange.

Keep on keeping on.

[annathepiper]

Thank you very much. Hopefully some time in the next 24-48 hours they'll get her respiration nice and stabilized, and then they can start working on waking her up and making sure all the neurons are indeed firing. AS THEY WILL, because That Is The Way It Is Going to Happen.

[tavella.livejournal.com]

(hugs madly)

I'm so sorry to hear about this! Damn drivers.

[annathepiper]

*hugs back!* Thank you, hon. And in-DEED.

[cafiorello.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear Dara is fighting!

You want to stay hydrated, but also look at changes in caffeine consumption and eating schedule.... All could cause headaches!

Hugs to all.

Cathy

[annathepiper]

I've been trying to keep more or less to a similar level of caffeine consumption, and still having only my morning and afternoon sodas. Eating's been wonky, but then again, my appetite has as well. Yay, massive amounts of stress! :}