I spoke to the NP about Wren's EKG concerns and learned that they had done another EKG this afternoon. We are waiting for the Felllow and Attending to look at it and discuss.
She said that they are not very concerned about it but are watching it and hope it resolves. If it is a long term issue they may look at it in more depth. For now, they continue to monitor blood levels of troponin I. In my limited understanding, this gives an indication of whether the cells in Wren's heart are doing ok or are distressed (not receiving the blood they need). Even post-operatively - when his EKG was most 'funky' - his Troponin levels and other indicators of stress were normal. This is very reassuring.
The chest tube is out! Wren did very well and received some morphine to help with it. Unfortunately, due to a mix-up, they did not take out the pacer wires. Hanson came up to do it but the NP didn't run into him and so he drifted off.
People seem to spend a lot of time paging people on other teams and then waiting for them, missing them, repaging them. Everyone is busy and the small chances of meeting seldom co-incide. In fact, the X-ray tech and the nurses just had a fight while the surgical fellow was removing Wren's chest tube. She had come at the same time as the Fellow and he asked her to wait till he had removed the tube (because he needed a post-removal shot). The NP had asked for an x-ray of the emphysema in his abdomen.
The X-ray tech complained she had come back three times. The nurse blamed her for not waiting. Hansen Quan melted away. The NP was in the bathroom. ARGH!!! After the fight a new X-Ray tech came, in better humor.
Coming soon
Frost and Granny should be taking off from Seattle soon. Whoopee.
3 comments:
As I sit here remembering the drama around removal of Evan's chest tube, the confusion about his murmur that appeared of out nowhere post-op, the debate about the true cause of his pneumothorax (another word of the day), the signals crossing, etc., I am very affected by how apt your descriptions are. Especially the bits about the "factory" and the challenge of getting those pesky "explanations". Thanks for letting us share your blog. It is a joy to see Wren's pictures and he looks so, so very strong. I am so glad that the chest tube has come out! Hope that Granny and Frost had a pleasant flight!
This seems to be a common complaint of people in hospitals for serious medical conditions. We had the same problem with my mom's OHS last year. and wrote a letter to the Ombudsman for the hospital. Not that we expected much, but the hospital did seriously look at the concerns and have changed things because of it.
Dear Heather
Thank you for your cookies - we are eating them now! Mum had a good flight and arrived before Josh got to the airport.
I am going to bed now.
Lauren - I am very excited about Matthew going to school here. He will be my first proxy attempt.
Shannon
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