Sunday Mid-Day Update from Beth

Hi all,Mom had another good night. They have been monitoring her output closely since last night because she has not been peeing enough for their liking. They infused a dose of diuretic in her IV this morning and when we went in again at about 10:00 she was peeing and everyone was happier. She will probably stay in ICU today because of that. They do not seem to be worried about it however. Dr. Weldner said this morning that considering what her body went through and the fact that she has chronic renal problems anyways, that it is not unusual for her renal actions to "to go to sleep for a bit". He was not at all concerned. He told mom "I'm grinning from ear to ear" with regard to her recovery! All other things look great! She is still not hungry and didn't even want coffee this morning. She had jello around 10:00 and Martha got her some pudding and butternut squash soup that she might enjoy later today. She was in heaven when we got her a very hot facecloth for her face and neck early this morning. They have her sitting up (which she needs to do for at least 2 hours morning and then again afternoon)but she is still groggy and very sleepy. She said again, "I can't believe it's over." She is still in somewhat of a time warp. Her throat is bothering her a bit and also her back. Her voice is raspy and she speaks very slowly and softly BUT coherently! Things are continuing to look great!! We will be hanging around the waiting room again today and I'll check email regularly if anyone has questions.
Beth xxxxoooo

Sat. 4 p.m. update from Beth

Mom has had a good day. Martha, Susan and I had a great conversation with her while she had her lunch. She had jello with whipped cream and coffee. She didn't care to have the veggies or beef stew (I don't blame her). She thought at that time that it was Friday - not Saturday and we had a good laugh recounting some of the conversations she had had earlier in the morning with regard to the mix-up. "No wonder they were all looking at me like I was crazy." She slept a good deal of the day and can now give herself pain meds - obviously controlled and dosed. She just pushes a button and a dose is delivered through her IV. She can only get it after so many hours. At lunch she said she was pain free. Her color is much better. She sat upright for part of the day and slept in a reclined position. Her back is bothering her a bit - probably from having to lie flat for most of the morning. She is coughing and getting whatever it is in her lungs out. Dr. Weldner visited her this morning but he didn't visit us. He told her things were looking real good. The nurses believe that Mom will be out of the ICU tomorrow. I'm not sure where her room will be. We (Auntie Jo, Martha, Susan, Jen, Nic, Tucker) all got to have quick visits with her today. SURPRISE, SURPRISE - Pamela Cole and friend Norma stopped by and visited with us and with Mom this afternoon. They were attending a Quaker gathering in Portland and were headed back to Dartmouth, MA tonight. It was great to see them. It's now 4:00 and Jen and the boys are headed to Damariscotta and Susan, Martha and Auntie Jo are off to get Chinese!! I won't be sending any more news tonight - I will post more news mid morning tomorrow.Beth xxoo

Saturday at 12:30

I was at rehearsal, but Jo left a message at 12:30 today. Said that Faith was doing well. Got up for lunch. Still out of it , though. Having been through heart valve replacement myself, I know it takes days to regain some normalcy.
So the news remains good from Maine Med.

Beth Update - Night of Surgery

Sorry this is so late, but not much happened since my last email. Mom wakes up for a short bit now and again. She is able to answer questions about pain level and some other questions that the nurses ask. She has moved all her limbs. They say she is doing well. We are not really allowed to visit with her. We just check in periodically, talk quietly with her (we do all the talking) She hasn't responded to us, but again we've only been allowed in for a minute now and again. They took out the breathing tube at about 11:30. This is very good. We peeked in after that and sure enough, she was breathing on her own and doing a fair amount of snoring:) I am spending the night here in the waiting room with a pager in case they need to get hold of someone. Aunti Jo is up on the 5th floor on a pull-out couch in a private consult room. Jen and the boys, Martha and Susan are all at hotels tonight. It was great to see everyone. We are all doing well. I'll post another note tomorrow.
Beth xxoo

Post Op Report from Beth

12:30Dr. Weldner just came to let us know that things went very well. They were able to do all the things that needed doing. Two valve repairs (the tricuspid repair required moving the pacer lead that had embedded itself), one valve replacement (the aorta one which was still the trickiest but he was able to replace it), and one bypass. For those of you who knew about the MAZE procedure (which might have eliminated the pace-maker) he did not do that, but he came in with both thumbs up and said her heart looked good and strong. She held up fine. They only had her in circulatory arrest for 13 minutes - which he said was good. Now she has to wake up. They will not know anything about possible stroke until she wakes up, moves around a bit and they can do an assessment. That might not occur for a few more hours. They will be watching all the suture (did I spell that right?) places for blood leakage, she will have a chest xray (normal procedure) as soon as she gets to her room. We will be able to peek in quickly in about 45 minutes - after they have her settled in her room in the cardiothorasic intensive care. She will probably be out of it but we plan on talking to her anyways and letting her know that everything is great and that we love her! After we get to see her I'll send off another quick note. YEE-HAW, HOORAY, YIPEE!! SIBLINGS, I will call after we see Mom.
Love, Beth xxxooo

Beth Report 8:00 a.m.

Hi all,
Auntie Jo, Heidi, Peter, Skyler, Susan and myself and of course Faith had dinner at Ri-Ra last night. Great food and a fun night. Heidi and her family headed back to Shelburne, NH after dinner. The rest of us went to La Quinta. We all got up at 4:30 this morning and headed to the hospital at 5:15. They took mom off at 6:30. Jo, Susan and I are in the waiting room near where Mom will be recovering. It is now 8:00 and we've had the necessary coffee and tea to keep us going. I know you are all keeping Mom in your thoughts today. When we get any news, I will update you all.
That's all for now, folks.
Beth xxoo

April 15th Status

Faith is going to Portland tomorrow (Thursday, the 16th) as planned. Assuming everything is ok, she will have her surgery Friday as scheduled. Jo is taking her down and will stay. Susan and Beth will be coming from Vermont to meet them there and stay. Beth has promised to update everyone from the hospital via the Internet.