Monday was a good day. Nana got moved from ICU to PCU in the morning. She had another (and much shorter) dialysis session sometime before Laura went to see her. Some of Nana's friends visited for about an hour, which is always a good thing. The biggest good news yesterday was when Nana called around 9pm to say that one of her doctors confirmed that her heart went into a normal heartbeat rhythm (not a-fib)!
Tuesday was good then turned kind of so-so. Nana had a busy day--some more friends visited. She's able to get up and out of bed when she needs. She had a really good lunch today and ate just about everything.
Dr. C came by and said that Nana's kidneys are doing much better. Nana's heart doctor came by and listened to her heartbeat, and everything seemed to be in order. Her heart is still in normal heartbeat rhythm. Dr. M - thinks she might get out in 2-3 days.
This afternoon, they took out Nana's PICC line. The area on her arm was starting to turn red and puffy, and an infection is suspected. If she didn't pick up this infection, she might have been released tomorrow.
The IV to dialysis catheter connection is leaking, which is a bit concerning. Laura said the nurses were going to change the bandages and see if that helps. They are trying to avoid putting in an IV line in her arm since they just took the PICC line out (and her left arm is sort of reserved for a more permanent dialysis connection).
Showing posts with label a-fib. Show all posts
Showing posts with label a-fib. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
Catheter Ablation Procedure
Laura and I arrived at the hospital in the early afternoon, and Aunt D was there visiting with her again. We're so thankful that she was there to spend time with Nana.
Nana had a catheter ablation procedure performed on the upper right part of her heart to hopefully control her heart rhythm. She has an a-fib (atrial fibrillation) heartbeat, and hopefully this will help change her heart beat rhythm to a normal one. Her procedure was supposed to begin at 3pm, but it was closer to 4:30pm when they finally began.
Laura, Aunt D, Cousin D and I spent a couple of hours in one of the waiting rooms being afflicted by the wonders that are afternoon TV. I can now say I've been subjected to Judge Judy and Dr. Phil, and I really don't care to endure that again. Around 6pm, Laura and I decided to go get some dinner (and to ponder the Oxygen Fiasco).
We got back from dinner around 7pm, and immediately went to the waiting room to see if Aunt D and Cousin D were still there. Nope--they had left. I said "Let's go check out Nana's room," and as soon as we got off the elevator on her floor, we saw some orderlies (is that what they're still called?) wheeling a gurney with Nana towards her room. Praise God for good timing!.
This was another difficult day, as Nana had to lay flat on her back for about 4 hours. As she was recovering, she kept asking Laura when the spaghetti was going to hatch, and what it does. I'm not sure if she was just talking in her sleep, or if this was an after effect of the anesthesia, but it was pretty amusing. What happened is that the hospital staff either washed her hair, or got it wet, and that became the "spaghetti" and the "hatching" was her hair drying. It's amazing how the human brain connects words together, and if something interferes slightly, the lookup table can be a bit off. Sometimes humorously.
Dinner for Nana tonight consisted of meatballs, plain white rice and green beans. Since Nana has a hiatal hernia, swallowing things can be tricky...especially rice. Again, Laura asked the nursing staff for something else, and they brought orange sherbet and chocolate pudding. They also brought some green jell-o, which Nana decided to not eat because green jell-o is something to be wary of (this is an inside joke that I really don't want to explain right now).
We managed to get home from the hospital close to 11:30 pm after a long and tiring day.
Nana had a catheter ablation procedure performed on the upper right part of her heart to hopefully control her heart rhythm. She has an a-fib (atrial fibrillation) heartbeat, and hopefully this will help change her heart beat rhythm to a normal one. Her procedure was supposed to begin at 3pm, but it was closer to 4:30pm when they finally began.
Laura, Aunt D, Cousin D and I spent a couple of hours in one of the waiting rooms being afflicted by the wonders that are afternoon TV. I can now say I've been subjected to Judge Judy and Dr. Phil, and I really don't care to endure that again. Around 6pm, Laura and I decided to go get some dinner (and to ponder the Oxygen Fiasco).
We got back from dinner around 7pm, and immediately went to the waiting room to see if Aunt D and Cousin D were still there. Nope--they had left. I said "Let's go check out Nana's room," and as soon as we got off the elevator on her floor, we saw some orderlies (is that what they're still called?) wheeling a gurney with Nana towards her room. Praise God for good timing!.
This was another difficult day, as Nana had to lay flat on her back for about 4 hours. As she was recovering, she kept asking Laura when the spaghetti was going to hatch, and what it does. I'm not sure if she was just talking in her sleep, or if this was an after effect of the anesthesia, but it was pretty amusing. What happened is that the hospital staff either washed her hair, or got it wet, and that became the "spaghetti" and the "hatching" was her hair drying. It's amazing how the human brain connects words together, and if something interferes slightly, the lookup table can be a bit off. Sometimes humorously.
Dinner for Nana tonight consisted of meatballs, plain white rice and green beans. Since Nana has a hiatal hernia, swallowing things can be tricky...especially rice. Again, Laura asked the nursing staff for something else, and they brought orange sherbet and chocolate pudding. They also brought some green jell-o, which Nana decided to not eat because green jell-o is something to be wary of (this is an inside joke that I really don't want to explain right now).
We managed to get home from the hospital close to 11:30 pm after a long and tiring day.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
The start of the 12-day stay
Nana was admitted to the hospital because of fluid retention and breathing difficulties again. She was in a hospital about a mile and a half from our house. She was scheduled to be transferred to a hospital in Orange County (about 60 miles away) to have her heart examined via catheter and camera on Friday, March 4, and schedule a valve replacement.
Dr C, Nana's kidney doctor, came by to tell her that it's almost a sure thing that if she has this valve replacement surgery, she will need to go on dialysis. She only has 1 kidney working, and it's at about 40%. He wants Nana to drink more to help her kidney. Of course Dr M doesn't agree and still wants Nana on the fluid restriction. Wouldn't it be great if doctors could agree on a course of treatment?
On March 3, they performed an electrical cardioversion (shock treatment) on Nana's heart to try to correct her a-fib (atrial fibrillation) heart rhythm. She came through this procedure with flying colors. The problem with this was that her heart returned to it's a-fib rhythm within a few days...
Dr C, Nana's kidney doctor, came by to tell her that it's almost a sure thing that if she has this valve replacement surgery, she will need to go on dialysis. She only has 1 kidney working, and it's at about 40%. He wants Nana to drink more to help her kidney. Of course Dr M doesn't agree and still wants Nana on the fluid restriction. Wouldn't it be great if doctors could agree on a course of treatment?
On March 3, they performed an electrical cardioversion (shock treatment) on Nana's heart to try to correct her a-fib (atrial fibrillation) heart rhythm. She came through this procedure with flying colors. The problem with this was that her heart returned to it's a-fib rhythm within a few days...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)