Her ankles are doing well. She was able to take her boots off for a couple of hours yesterday. What a relief! Her orthopedic surgeon is pleased with the way the are healing. She still can't put any weight on them, but we know she has come such a long way since this time a week ago. We are so thankful for this progress!
Monday afternoon things got a little crazy and scary. Without going into too many details, she started having some major breathing complications. After working on her, Dr. Wood found out that her left lung had already filled back up with fluid again. Before they operated on her ankles last Wednesday, they drained this fluid off. It was also drained off the week before in Birmingham when she went for treatment. He was concerned that 1)there was so much fluid and 2)it had already come back so fast. Her oxygen levels dropped pretty low and he moved her into ICU to be monitored more closely. He told us that this fluid was a result of her breast cancer.
We knew then that we needed to get her to Birmingham. For the next few days we played the waiting game. All the beds at UAB were full. Finally last night at 12:30 they got the call that Birmingham was ready for her. They had a bed for her and the surgeon had accepted her case. Talk about answered prayers! By this point in the week we were all very anxious and more than ready for her to be there. Our patience had just about ran out. The ambulance picked her up from ICU and got her to Birmingham just in time for her surgery.
Dr. Cerfolio did surgery this morning. He drained all of the fluid that was surrounding her left lung. She had so much fluid built up that it was causing her to have a collapsed lung. Her also cleaned out her lung. Since she had not been using it, it had mucus and saliva that needed to be out, before it would inflate and work properly. He also put talc powder in the area where the fluid was, to prevent it from coming back as easily. It acts like concrete in her chest wall. Sounds a little strange to me, but I'm no surgeon. Whatever makes her feel better.
So now I think we are caught up. She is hurting tonight from the surgery. She still has a chest tube in that will continue to drain the fluid. She will probably have it in for the next two days. She has a horrific cough and she's got the oxygen cranked up.
Tonight I'm so thankful that another surgery is behind us. You would think it would get easier with time, but I think it's the exact opposite. It gets harder and harder. She is such a tough cookie, and I'm thankful for her will and determination. I'm also thankful for a Christian surgeon who was placed right in the middle of her care plan today. Dr. Cerfolio shared his story with us tonight while he was in the room with us. His wife is upstairs fighting leukemia with similar symptoms to mother. He was so compassionate and had us all in tears before he left. It is just a God thing. No other way to explain it.
Thank you for praying with us today. His love was made so evident to us throughout the day today. We love you all so.
Tonight we are also thankful for chocolate pudding cups and sweet nurses. They make our stay much more pleasant.
Be back soon.
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