Today, I got to the hospital at just after 10am, only to find that the doctors were still doing their rounds. I therefore headed off to the restaurant for breakfast. In fact, the nurses came looking for me in the waiting area before I managed to get back.
I found that Heather had been put back on proper sedation (10ml/h), as she had gotten distressed yesterday during her attempts to wake up with the tube down her throat. Therefore, it looks like they have no option but to go down the tracheostomy route on Tuesday. It’s unfortunate, but apparently it’s a lot more comfortable for the patient that way. Other than that, there were to be no major changes in store for the rest of Monday.
She was also put back on her original food, as it seems she needed the potassium more than they expected.
Heather’s administrations continued throughout the morning. She was given a dose of antibiotics about 10:45am and had a chest x-ray an hour later. I sat quietly with her in her room until midday when Mum and Dave arrived to keep me company. We later went off to have some lunch in the rather noisy restaurant. I don’t know what they were doing in the kitchen, but they were banging and crashing around in there.
Mum stayed with me until 2pm when Heather’s Dad arrived. During his stay, we spoke to one of the nurses on duty who told us that there would be a different consultant on duty this week, so they may perform the trachy on Tuesday or maybe even Wednesday. This was a little puzzling, as some medical people that our families know are wondering why they are taking so long in performing this task. Perhaps it’s due to the Bank Holiday and they don’t have to staff around in case of problems or maybe they just prefer more natural methods of bringing people round.
At 4pm, we left for the day, as nothing else was going to change and she seemed stable and comfortable. Heather did stir a little as we left, but soon went back to sleep again.
I decided to go back home to Ashford for a while and do a few things around the house. It felt a bit odd going home without Heather with me, but Gizmo was his usual self, which was nice and I gave him a nice bit of attention. Mum and Martin came round for a while to keep me company. I also took the opportunity to do my own blood pressure (125/84 – no problem there). I think later in the week once (hopefully) Heather comes round, I’ll be spending more time there.
I’ve now come back to my Dad’s house in Canterbury to rest and prepare for tomorrow. If they do perform the tracheostomy tomorrow as planned, it’s going to be a busy day with a little more stress than the weekend.
I hope that whenever it happens, it all goes well.
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