Step back? Gross good news

I've heard that this ordeal can be described as "two steps forward, one step back." We're at a step back, or perhaps a pause. Denise's oxygen concentrations are at 50% (been at 30 for several days), heart rate racing (I'd seen as high as 157), still dealing with fevers. They're not going to push weaning her off of the ventilator. She didn't want to be in the cardiac chair even 15 minutes today, and she was very out of it every time I saw her (not much today, as I had my second day of teacher orientations). Bummer, as I'd been getting used to interacting with her for the past few days. It'd be nice to see her alert, breathing & pulsing more comfortably, and happy more of the time.

It turns out that the indium scan did indeed show some abnormality around the right kidney. But the CT scan showed it to be OK. They did find a small pocket of fluid at a muscle between the thigh & back. Could just be blood. Could be an abcess (unlikely, as it would have lit up with the indium scan). So I signed the form to have her jabbed again (with help from the ultrasound machine so they avoid poking anything they don't want to poke). Let's hope that tomorrow's probe will shed light on why the fevers & ab swelling persist.

They're going to do a "resting energy expenditure" test. It's a test that measures the oxygen going in and the carbon dioxide coming out in order to figure out how many calories she's using. The thought is that maybe she's breaking down protein because she's not getting enough to "eat." They'll also do a thyroid check. I told the doctor that there was no family history of thyroid problems. Then I found out tonight that there are supposed to be some problems on her dad's side. So family that's reading this blog, sound off if there are any thyroid problems so I can clue in Denise's team. They'll also do an endocrine check. No stone unturned, you know.

And now for the gross good news... I know that when Denise wakes up and reads what I'm about to share with all of you, she'll chase me around the house with a rolling pin. But it really is a nice bit of news, considering the effects of the colitis lately.
Denise only pooped once today.
We can all be happy. The nurses today may be the happiest of all.

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