Xigris stops, 6 liters drawn, Some better, Some worse

Denise finished her 96-hour Xigris drip today, then got a paracentesis which drew 6 liters off of her abdomen... you heard that right... 3 soda bottles worth of fluid. Denise was really tired today but indicated that she felt better after losing that fluid. That draw couldn't be done a couple days earlier while on the Xigris because of fear of complications from bleeding. By the way, the gal doing the procedure was someone that I remember from way back in elementary school.
Denise was doing pretty well on the gastro tube feeding at 40cc/hr until late this morning, when she threw up. Hopefully the lack of 6 liters in the belly will correct the bowel obstructions (that's been an "on-again, off-again" situation) and lessen the vomiting. By the way, for those that like to know, the g-tube is the better one with an umbrella to hold it in place instead of a balloon (I don't have a clue what this is supposed to look like, but that's what I'm told). Speaking of balloon, that fancy expensive fecal containment system was removed today. There was a note stating that it shouldn't be thrown away. Eeew.
Not all blood work was done today since several things are stable, and this saves some jabs for Denise.
Kidneys: The creatinine test is up a little to 2.2. We want it to go down to 1. But I guess this is to be expected with her renal function still so low. Urine output is still *very* low.
Liver: Didn't hear anything today, so I assume that liver function is still very low.
Lungs: Holding their own, respirations in the 20s, concentration still at 40%, still pulling good saturation in her system.
The blood pressure medicine was stopped today, and her blood pressure was about 98-110. Her heart rate was up as high as 130 at times to compensate for it. The challenge for the team now is to try to figure out what to do about this. If they give drugs to lower the heart rate, the blood pressure will also lower, and the liver & kidneys won't be as well supplied with blood. Denise needs the blood perfusion to those organs.

I've been feeling more ground down than usual since yesterday, the stress & chaos isn't bouncing off of me as well, and I think I might be fighting something. Either tha,t or this is what it feels like to turn 35. Anyway, getting sick and staying away from Denise for days isn't an option right now. So I'm trying to take it a little easier at night and get more rest. I didn't go to the hospital after the shift change last night and probably won't go tonight. That eats me up, as I havent' seen Denise much yesterday or today. I'm also feeling the stress of trying to cram a bunch of necessary computer lab projects that I'd intended to do over summer into the crunch time at the beginning of the school year. Fortunately, my ubergeek buddy from Tennessee has been putting in lots of hours to help me at work.

Posted in: