Sun, 7.27 - Day 2 in ICU

Day 2 in the ICU was much better than the past few days. First, a WBC and Leukemia update. We hit a WBC level of 0.1 today - which was the initial target. That's great news. The doctors believe we were successful against the Leukemia. They went ahead and sent some blood samples off to see if they can confirm the Leukemia cells are gone. She's due another bone marrow biopsy to really confirm and analyze, but that will not happen until she improves a little more. It originally was scheduled for yesterday then due to doctor availability and her move to the ICU, they said possibly Monday. I would surprised if tomorrow's the day. But again - there is no rush on this as they think the Leukemia is gone. The biopsy will verify all leukemia cancers in her marrow are gone. Then another will be done in the future to evaluate good marrow is growing back

Now back to the challenge at hand.

- Mental: Good
- Physical: Tough
- Medical: Better

Today was better from the get-go as Mom slept much better through the night last night on the elevated Oxygen and ICU care. She did have some feverish issues, but nothing like the previous two nights where it was a constant roller coaster of hot - cold - repeat cycle. You could tell when Annie and I got there early this morning on our way out of town.

The rest of the day was rather uneventful from a Medical perspective. Abyankar came in and thought there was a possibility of getting her out, but concluded by the time the day was over that another day or two in there would do her good. Ultimately it's a conservative approach ensuring that her fever and oxygen levels continue to progress. They do think that a couple of the times she was given platelets that it caused her fever to elevate. And really she's just not there physically.

I continue to wish there was an update on the lung issues, but there's not a real clear one. The chest X-Ray showed additional fluid in her lungs this morning. But through a stethoscope she sounded improved in the morning. And when she felt short on air this afternoon, they said she sounded better than she did earlier today. So we continue to wonder what the damn thing is.

One issue we learned today is all the drugs she's getting are interfering with a good speutum culture. Hopefully we'll get some more clarity tomorrow, but don't hold your breath. For now be grateful the doctors aren't alarmed. Additionally as her white blood cells rebound and begin to rebuild she'll be able to fight the infection herself. Now wouldn't that be something - Mom's body could help beat something medicine hasn't fully yet...anybody surprised by that???

Physically she's not able to do much so there's still progress to be made. When she attempted to negotiate her way out of there, and the Nurse Practitioner asked if she could walk around her bed. She realized she would need to do more on her own outside of ICU so she agreed.

However she did keep some food down today (1/2 an orange and some iced OJ). They're looking at different nausea drugs that will help with food consumption and don't induce drowsiness.

Mentally she's doing pretty well. She doesn't want to be alone so there's a rotation of close family (Mom, Sisters, Walt, Me / Annie, and on Wednesday Mark). Janice especially has been a trooper staying the last 2 nights with her and will tonight as well. We honestly don't talk much though. It's just listening and ensuring she does not try to talk too much and lets herself sleep when it beckons.

I should point out that she's made such an impression on the nurses down in Unit 41 that they keep hoping for her back, and several have talked about and / or attempted to stop up and say hello. That's Mom - still making connections and leaving a lasting impression on everyone she comes into contact with!

That's it for now. Hopefully everyone has a great week!