Dara update

[annathepiper]

spazzkat and I are back home again tonight, folks, as of this writing. Today has been pretty much third verse, same as the first--solarbird continues to be in stable and slowly, slowly improving condition. Her head is not an issue, but there remains some concern about her respiratory condition. She's still on the breathing tube as of tonight, and they are being extra special super paranoid about taking it out, because they want to be damn sure it's okay to do so before they do it. It was really hard to get it in the first time, so they don't want to have to do it twice.

Me, I'm a big, big fan of Dara continuing to breathe, so I told 'em I'm pretty much good with that.

Dara was sleeping pretty much the entire time Paul and I were in there today; the nurse on duty didn't wake her up any of the times we were in there. But they did start her on some nutrients, to get some vitamins and proteins and stuff into her system. So hopefully this'll start giving her the fuel she needs to get her respiration settled out. We kept up with the talking to her, and hell, I sang random Great Big Sea songs at her. And discovered that singing "Ordinary Day" while holding the unconscious hand of your lifemate is, well, kinda hard. :}

But. All things considered she continues to be one of the easier cases the NICU ward has had to be dealing with. There are definitely people in worse condition there--like the boy who got SHOT IN THE EYE and whose 17-year-old girlfriend has been at the hospital for the last couple of weeks now. With, I might add, an eight-month-old baby. Then there's the lady with whom we are informally sharing the booth we've claimed in the waiting room; her fiance has been in the ICU for the last eleven days or so and from what we're hearing, he's paralyzed from the neck down. Neither of these ladies are local, so they have no local support at all. Which makes for all kinds of extra suck on top of what they're having to go through in the first place.

I produced my Power of Attorney paper today, which dramatically upped the level of information I was getting. Mind you, this doesn't mean that the nurses have been holding out on us, 'cause they haven't, it's just that there's a whole new layer of data they get to give you once you're confirmed as the person legally entitled to hear this stuff. And once the day nurse realized that both Paul and I were in the tech industry, and clued in that yeah, we can take and digest detailed data, she told us all kinds of things about what was going on. Which was something of a comfort.

Tomorrow, though, I'm going to have to call the cops and start asking about whether they've been investigating what happened and if so what's up with that. And that's going to suck. But, well. Tonight, I'm going to play my guitar because I'm feeling a powerful need for it, and because Jenna was a wise person for telling me I should do so.

Today's heroes of the revolution: cow for coming by at lunch to hang out, and for taking risu home so she could get some rest and come back and spell Paul and me tonight; jessicac for coming by with not only tasty snackies (and OMG I was about to kill for some fruit, and she had RASPBERRIES), but also Moira the Magic Baby (who we had not yet actually SEEN, and both Paul and I lamented that this was NOT the circumstance under which we wanted to see that infant for the first time), who was the cutest little thing; and last but not least mamishka, who showed up with homemade spaghetti and Caesar salad and garlic bread.

More as it happens, folks.

Comments

[waysofseeing.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

I'll try to stop by tomorrow and see how everyone's doing.

[annathepiper]

*hugs back!* Thank you! We'll look forward to it.

[hederahelix.livejournal.com]

I'm keeping you guys in my thoughts. And also, just so you know, please don't feel like you need to respond to my comments. I just wanted to drop by, tell you I'm thinking of you, and be supportive and non-work making. You have plenty of emotional work to do right where you are.

(Here's where I get all neurotic and mention that it's not like I thought you said anything that made me think that you were thinking about leaving comments. It's just I know me, and I feel the need to respond when people leave me comments, and then I remember to remind people who are stressed out that I don't expect one, because I so wouldn't want to even inadvertantly make someone else feel like they ought to, and okay, neurotic enough, stopping now.)

Hang in there, and I'm glad to hear that D's improving steadily.

[annathepiper]

Heh--not to worry. It is actually helpful to me to be able to tell you all this stuff and to go through and answer all the comments I'm getting (of which there are dozens), if nothing else because it gives me a focus. Just hearing from you and everyone else is extremely, extremely good, and it helps me feel like I can take this positive energy and convey it to Dara. So while I may be pokey answering various comments, rest assured that they will be read and that they are most welcome and very much appreciated!

[desert-dragon42.livejournal.com]

*hugs*hugs*hugs* Jay and I are keeping y'all in our thoughts.

[annathepiper]

*hugs a bunch!* Thank you very much, both of you.

[waterowl.livejournal.com]

Lots of hugs!

[annathepiper]

Hugs back!

[annathepiper]

*hugs a bunch* Thank you, hon. Best wishes are most welcome. Keep 'em coming, we'll be needing them all week!

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

Good to know the Power of Attorney thing is working; we will need that soon.

Singing anything while holding your unconcious beloved's hand is hard.

Happiness is, getting the near-raw medical records and having a look-see for yourself. I got the CAT scans after my surgery (and there was a Linux program that would display them!) and had a look-see... you don't want to know what shape my windpipe was in.

Hang in there.... hopefully she can come off the ventilator soon, and be home soon after that. And YAY! for bosses that let you telecommute.

You and cflute both with the raspberries.... heh. Hafta remember that. :)

[annathepiper]

I haven't asked for Dara's actual records yet; I'm kind of dealing with information overload right now. But I'll be processing it all as I can, and if critical data comes up, I'll be focusing directly on that.

We're hanging in there, yeah.

And I do loves me some raspberries. Mmmmmmmmmmm raspberries.

[kathrynt.livejournal.com]

I can. . . OK. I can't read CAT scans. You need years and years and years of training to be able to read CAT scans. I haven't had that training.

I have, however, seen dozens of CAT scans, and seen them correlated with MRIs and PET scans, and had helpful M.D. / Ph.D's look over my shoulder and point out items of interest. IOW: I am slightly better at interpreting a CAT scan than your average, say, hamster. So if you GET the CAT scans, and you want someone to point at things and say "those are her eyeballs, that should be smaller," etc. then give me a call.

[annathepiper]

I will, hon, thanks much.

[ceallaighgirl.livejournal.com]

Definitely keep her breathing! :-) I suppose she hasn't been able to really communicate yet, eh? I hope that she'll be able to remember something from the accident so they can catch the jerk who did this to her (but not remember too much, I imagine that might a bit traumatic).

Last time I visited Harbourview was when a friend was riding his bike and was hit by a drunk driver, and he had lots of head injuries too. He never has been quite the same. Not in a bad sort of way, but just different, like it brought out a whole different side to his personality.

But lots of sleep should be good for her. When my friend fell down that mountain last spring (or was it winter?) and he was in a coma for awhile, being in the coma was actually a good thing because then it was like his body could focus on just healing himself and he healed faster than he would have had he been awake all the time and stuff.

Are you allowed to take your guitar or bouzouki into the hospital? It might be really nice if you can take it there and sing. I'm willing to bet other patients wouldn't have any complaints, too!

[annathepiper]

Dara has not been able to communicate yet, no. Even when she's been remotely close to conscious, having to have the breathing tube in makes it impossible for her to talk. So we won't expect her to actually be saying anything until they get her respiration stabilized and can get that tube out of her.

They probably wouldn't let me have an instrument in the ICU--too much noise, I suspect. Maybe in the waiting room it would be okay, but I don't know. I'm not sure I could play there, anyway, even if they'd let me. I only know how to effectively play a small number of songs, and I'd chicken out playing them in front of a crowd of strangers.

But singing for Dara I can do.

[ceallaighgirl.livejournal.com]

Well just keep singing then. Music is very healing.

[annathepiper]

Throat's kinda shot right now for singing (stupid colds), but I can damn well THINK the lyrics to "Ordinary Day" really, really loud.

[boxer-ferret.livejournal.com]

Sounds like things are going well, but I hope her breathing is OK. Yeah, those tubes are a bitch, but putting them in is supposedly even more of a bitch and it's not something you want some intern doing. So hopefully they'll be able to get it out soon and keep it out and all will be fine.

Glad to hear you you've been playing the guitar. And singing the songs... that's wonderful. :-)

Good luck with the cops. You might even want to contact your local media about it because around here, hit and runs get lots of coverage on the TV news to help find the person responsible.

[annathepiper]

Getting the tubes into Dara was apparently even more of a bitch than normal, and they had to get like three or four people, including a specialist, in there to deal with it. Which is why they're being extra special super paranoid about it.

As for the local media, I'll see what happens and if that turns out to be necessary. Right now it's going to be scary enough talking to cops. But thanks for the suggestion. Heh. In a way I actually AM the local media, at least in that I do work for a local paper now. (Doing QA on their web pages, but still, I AM an employee of the Times...)

[shaylith.livejournal.com]

My prayers are with you!

[annathepiper]

Thank you very much, hon, it's most appreciated.