5 weeks in, memory better, asking about baby

Things have been progressing slow for the last couple days. Overall, her breathing continues to get better, her blood, nutrient absorption, infection & high fevers continue to be in the limelight as concerns.
Denise looks very frail... bony hands, tiny wrists, etc. Not chewing & talking make her cheek bones very pronounced, cheeks sunken in & jaw line not as square. In spite of that, she's still giving it all she's got when she's alert, moving her legs & arms. Yesterday I think she was able to bend her knees on her own a tiny bit, and she was able to raise her arms at the elbows with great effort. She even accidentally batted the tracheostomy tube and it popped off for a second.
There was another change in antibiotic, as one of her infections (pseudomonas something or other) was resistant to it. They started Amikacin. She has mild DIC (disseminated intravascular coagulation), related to infection. It's a weird condition that I haven't researched enough to understand. But for the time being, I *think* it's a situation in which blood coagulates within the circulatory system (not at a wound), and uses up coagulants & platelets. She also has disproportionately low count of lymphocytes, which are part of white blood cells. 20% should be normal, she's been 15% on a good day, 5% on a bad day.
She had the best blood gas results yet (encouraging). Yesterday she was about as alert & active (and aggitated & anxious) as she's been since waking up. She could remember most people in photos and last night's nurse said she's definitely asking about the baby. Denise is only taking sedative (Avastin... with an "i" is the official hospital spelling) as needed, in small amounts to mellow out, not get knocked out.
We finished reading "Purpose Driven Life" the other day, which we started the day before Denise started feeling sick (40 days). Today marks the end of 5 weeks in the hospital. So on we go into week 6. And off I go to the hospital. Thanks for caring, all!

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