Another quiet day…

Yesterday and today have been thankfully uneventful.  With the doctors cutting back on Adela’s heavy pain medicines and anti-anxiety medicines, she is waking up more and, when awake, is more alert.  Her voice is still very raspy and she isn’t talking much (understandable since between the combination of her vocal cords needing to recover from having been on the ventilator and her respiratory infection), however she is signing some to us.  Last night while she was awake, Ali even made her smile a little.  It’s nice to see some of her personality returning.

Her oxygen flow has been weaned to 0.4 liters/minute and, over the next few days, should continue to be reduced until she no longer needs either the extra flow or the oxygen itself.  We’re hoping that the main line in her neck can be removed tomorrow without needing to put in a different IV line to replace it, however we’ll see what the doctors say.  Also, the caloric density of her formula was increased a little today.  The doctors are increasing it slowly to make sure she tolerates it well.

After talking to the doctor, it sounds like there are three goal Adela needs to meet before we’re headed home:  she needs to be off the supplemental oxygen, be weaned off the pain and anti-anxiety medicines, and make sure that she’s tolerating her new formula at the higher caloric density.  Hopefully we’re looking at near the end of next week if we’re lucky.

Ali and I walked up to the UNC Student Store today and picked her up a little UNC Chapel Hill t-shirt for her to wear when she gets better.  Here’s hoping UNC wins against Oklahoma right now…