Ready to move out of ICU

Big news today is that the doctor put in the order to get Denise out of the ICU. She would have moved out today, but there was no private room available to put her into. Hopefully she can move out tomorrow. So we're taking down the cards & pictures again, and will put them up in another room. Denise is worried that so many cards might make the other patients feel bad (she does have the most obnoxiously decorated room in the ICU).
She started a liquid food diet today. Vanilla pudding, squash soup, jello, juice... yummy stuff. Until she threw up tonight. She told me that because of throwing up, that may delay her move out of the ICU.
The MRI results were mixed. From an infectious disease department standpoint, the swelling decreased. Very good. From an opthomology department standpoint, there's no change. "No change," according to the notes that a nurse could decipher, included pupils being two different sizes and rechecking the retinas in 1-2 weeks, sooner if there's pain or a decrease in vision. This morning Denise told me that she thought the opthomologist told her that she had damage - lines in one eye - from a fever earlier on. I don't know if that's actually what she heard, of if she was confused. The aforementioned MRI notes didn't clue us in, either.
She got a new PICC line today, and an x-ray to verify correct placement. The bladder catheter was removed, then reinserted because she wasn't urinating. Immediately upon reinserting the catheter, the urine flowed. The nurse said that this is common with patients that have had a bladder catheter in for so long. But with some bladder exercises, she's expected to do just fine.
Sample vitals: Heart rate 111, blood pressure 134/65 (using a leg cuff), temps in the 99 range (spiked at only 101.2 last night). White blood cell count is normal, hemoglobin is 10 (no transfusions for several days, but is getting procrit), hematocrit 31.
We tried Denise's high-top sneakers, and indeed she said that they are a half-size too small. She felt this especially when PT tried standing her up. I trotted off to the women's shoe section of a department store and bought her a new pair of Converse Chuck Taylor All Star high-tops, black (no red or white in stock). The cashier said the total was forty-something dollars. I told her that I was only getting one pair. She said that the total she just stated WAS for one pair. What happened?!? When I was in high school, I used to buy these because they were about the cheapest things going... no pump, no gel, no hypercolor, no padding, no arch support... nothing! I should have guessed from all the hideous shoe colors the salesman showed me that Converse must be high fashion now. A friend told me that I could probably go to the men's shoe department and buy the same shoes for way less money. I'll have to try that.

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