Things are going well, all in all. She’s gotten much stronger in the last few days. Her cognition has returned to full normal. Still sleeping a lot, but she did just spend almost two weeks in sepsis, so that’s expected and appropriate. She’s really doing very well.
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Officially out of the ICU
18 FebBarbara is now in the IMU, which means a private room. It’s quiet, and I can room in again. Even more significant, the psychosis is already essentially gone. All that is left is to help her sort out what happened, and what was hallucination.
Originally posted at http://wyldraven.dreamwidth.org/552744.html
Barbara moving from ICU to step down unit
18 FebRoom is being cleaned now. She’ll move this afternoon sometime. Still monitored unit, but private room. Should be much better environment for her (and me too, for that matter).
She was considerably more lucid this morning. She is sleeping now. Vitals are strong, all indications are that she is winning the current battle. Thanks to everyone for your comments of support. They do help.
Originally posted at http://wyldraven.dreamwidth.org/552549.html
Everyone in Austin
18 FebAre you OK? Speak up if you have any news about the Echelon building, please.
Originally posted at http://wyldraven.dreamwidth.org/552255.html
No transfer yet
17 FebRoom didn’t come available. Status unchanged. Psychosis still pretty bad. She really needs to get some peace and quiet. Oh well, there’s always tomorrow.
Originally posted at http://wyldraven.dreamwidth.org/551959.html
Cautious good news
17 FebDoctor says lasarina is medically stable enough to leave the ICU. That should help with the psychosis. He’s going to transfer her today to the IMU (intermediate monitoring unit) if he can get a room. That would mean a private room without all the lights, noise, craziness of the ICU. It would also mean I could stay in the room with her overnight. All of these are good things.
Don’t get me wrong, she is still very ill. But at this point, I will gladly take any step in the right direction, no matter how small.
Originally posted at http://wyldraven.dreamwidth.org/551897.html
Sadly, I was correct again
16 FebIt is indeed Proteus, just as I predicted. But what I didn’t predict is that the Candida is also present again. Barbara is not lucid today. She is restless and uncomfortable. She is intermittently hallucinating. She is this close to ICU psychosis. I know, because I have seen it before. I am exhausted.
I won’t lie, the worst times for me are when I have to deal with the altered mental state. It’s too much like other things I saw growing up with very ill, very elderly, family members. Intellectually, I know what it is, and that it’s not all that big a deal. That doesn’t change the gut level emotional reaction. It’s frightening. It hurts to watch it. And yet I know, if I am not here, it will get exponentially worse.
I would love to nap, but if I do, I’ll repeat Sunday night. I didn’t go to sleep until 5am Monday as a result of a 90 minute nap Sunday afternoon. So I fight to stay awake, and maintain some sort of normalcy to my routine. As if normalcy and ICU can ever coexist. Thank the Goddess that at least I don’t have to worry about the pets this time.
Originally posted at http://wyldraven.dreamwidth.org/551492.html
So much for celebrations [Barbara]
14 FebIn my gut, I knew it was premature. Gram-negative rods took hold overnight. She is feverish and sick again. Whatever this one is (I’m guessing Proteus), it’s apparently not affected by Tigecycline, so they’ll be changing her to a different antibiotic later today.
Originally posted at http://wyldraven.dreamwidth.org/551196.html
OK, I guess I can trust it enough to update about it
13 FebHer fever broke yesterday, then was up and down through the evening. Today, she has remained fever free. She was awake for the better part of the day today, and coherent when awake. All vitals are in the normal range. So I guess what I am saying is that she is on top of this bout of sepsis. What a roller coaster ride.
As you can imagine, she is still quite exhausted. And if all this wasn’t enough, she woke up this morning with a big fever blister on her upper lip. Being immuno-compromised really sucks.
Originally posted at http://wyldraven.dreamwidth.org/550993.html
Yet another update
10 FebBarbara’s blood cultures have turned up the culprit, and the plan now is to narrow in on this with a specific agent, rather than the initial broad spectrum stuff. Prognosis is good. She is expected to recover, though this (like other instances before) will have weakened her again. Her fever is more controlled and she is resting more comfortably.
ETA: She is doing much better, and has been almost fever free for the last couple of hours. For those asking, the culprit is yeast in blood (candida sepsis) and urinary tract. She is being treated with broad spectrum antibiotics through the night, with a powerful IV anti-fungal (micafungin) ordered for the AM.
She actually just woke up shivering from the cooling blanket. It has been discontinued for now.
Originally posted at http://wyldraven.dreamwidth.org/550672.html
An Aging Trans Woman 