Sarah slept well for about 6 hours and looks great this morning. She is going on progressively longer walks around the unit and complaining about her mother's singing - both good signs. More tubes are gone, and regular breakfast of oatmeal and brown sugar is on the way. Sarah was also allowed some caffeinated diet coke this morning - the antidote in her view to morning crankiness.
She is very excited that her husband Levi will be able to visit around noon today. He posted a loving video on her Facebook wall yesterday. (Feel free to friend her on Facebook, if you haven't already, so you can see the video and all of the wonderful messages of support).
Sarah is starting on a diuretic (water medicine) today. One of the by products of heart surgery with by-pass is the addition of a lot of fluid to one's body. In Sarah's case she "gained" 17 pounds during the 8 hour operation. The good news is that weight loss under these circumstances will be rapid, and the only exercise needed involves getting to the commode often and on-time.
Another good sign today is her request for a round of Bananagrams this evening. Dad may make himself scarce to avoid the inevitable humiliation that this would involve.
While part of Sarah's recovery comes from her own inner strength and resilience, it's high time to extend some credit to this wonderful medical center (Dartmouth Hitchcock). Credit to her multiple doctors with their great knowledge and expertise along with the cutting edge tools at their disposal goes without saying. Her experience so far both on the intermediate cardiac care unit where Sarah was before her surgery and in the cardiac care intensive care unit where she has been since here surgery has been superb. While our own professional work has always depended on excellent nurses as part of the team, Sarah's care has demonstrated the foundational importance of great nurses to recovery and healing. The patient-centered, relationship-based care that Sarah has received from the DHMC nurses has nourished her improvement at literally every step - here's to the great nurses here, at Crotched Mountain where Dad works, and everywhere!
By the way, did you know that we can see some of the stats about visitors to Sarah's blog? In three days, there have been over 900 page views! Not surprisingly most of these visits are coming from the US, but there are also visitors from Canada, Great Britain, India and Brazil. (India and Brazil?? - what's that about?)
More later - please keep your comments and support rolling in. Sarah is just now feeling well enough to see and appreciate them. Feel free to share her blog address (http://sarahcooleyhealing.blogspot.com) with anyone who you feel would be interested and supportive.
She is very excited that her husband Levi will be able to visit around noon today. He posted a loving video on her Facebook wall yesterday. (Feel free to friend her on Facebook, if you haven't already, so you can see the video and all of the wonderful messages of support).
Sarah is starting on a diuretic (water medicine) today. One of the by products of heart surgery with by-pass is the addition of a lot of fluid to one's body. In Sarah's case she "gained" 17 pounds during the 8 hour operation. The good news is that weight loss under these circumstances will be rapid, and the only exercise needed involves getting to the commode often and on-time.
Another good sign today is her request for a round of Bananagrams this evening. Dad may make himself scarce to avoid the inevitable humiliation that this would involve.
While part of Sarah's recovery comes from her own inner strength and resilience, it's high time to extend some credit to this wonderful medical center (Dartmouth Hitchcock). Credit to her multiple doctors with their great knowledge and expertise along with the cutting edge tools at their disposal goes without saying. Her experience so far both on the intermediate cardiac care unit where Sarah was before her surgery and in the cardiac care intensive care unit where she has been since here surgery has been superb. While our own professional work has always depended on excellent nurses as part of the team, Sarah's care has demonstrated the foundational importance of great nurses to recovery and healing. The patient-centered, relationship-based care that Sarah has received from the DHMC nurses has nourished her improvement at literally every step - here's to the great nurses here, at Crotched Mountain where Dad works, and everywhere!
By the way, did you know that we can see some of the stats about visitors to Sarah's blog? In three days, there have been over 900 page views! Not surprisingly most of these visits are coming from the US, but there are also visitors from Canada, Great Britain, India and Brazil. (India and Brazil?? - what's that about?)
More later - please keep your comments and support rolling in. Sarah is just now feeling well enough to see and appreciate them. Feel free to share her blog address (http://sarahcooleyhealing.blogspot.com) with anyone who you feel would be interested and supportive.
So happy to hear that you are doing well, Sarah. You are a strong, courageous, brave young woman! I am just one of your many 'Faithful Friends' from Calumet that are praying for you, your family and all the medical personnel that are helping with your recovery.
ReplyDelete