No Gloom

Alison had quite the day today.  It started off on a rough note with a continuation of the nausea and vomiting from the day before.  I was awoken at 6am to her calling my name from the restroom.  I could tell by the tone of her voice that she was in trouble and I rushed in to find her shaking miserably and in desperate need of somewhere to vomit.  If that wasn't bad enough, I also saw that the drain she had installed on her back had come disconnected and was lying on the sink basin.  We got her back to bed and I immediately went in search of a nurse willing to help.  She agreed to get her a heavy dose of Morphine to help with the excruciating pain she was experiencing and a dose of the only anti-nausea medicine that seemed to provide her any relief.  The problem was both had to be given intravenously and we discovered the original IV she had in place since surgery that had been disconnected when she was weaned off the Morphine had sealed off and the nurse couldn't get the medication or flush to flow.  The nurse then decided that she would have to start a new IV which, with Alison's tiny veins, is an adventure all by itself.  After the new IV was installed and she got the medication in her system she experience some relief and the Tech was called in to repair the drainage tube to her back.  By the time he was finished, the Morphine and anti-nausea medication was starting to take affect and she was fast asleep as soon as she lay back in bed.

An hour later her father Andy arrived so I could go home and be with the kids.  Alison was still groggy when he arrived but was feeling a significant reduction in the pain and nausea.  When I arrived home, her mom Rocio left to join Andy at the hospital to spend the day with Alison.  A short while later the nurses made the determination that she no longer needed the drain because the quantity of fluid did not justify its use.  After it was removed, Alison received her first sponge bath and I think it made quite the difference in how she felt.  She spent the majority of the day either sitting in a chair or walking the halls rather than being laid up in bed and even ate her first solid meals.  She is still experiencing the bloating and some bouts of mild nausea but other than that today was the best day yet.

When I arrived back at the hospital to relieve Rocio at 8:30pm it was apparent that she might have pushed herself a little too far.  I found her sitting in the chair next to the bed and immediately asked me to help her get into bed for the night.  I was sure that with the level of discomfort she was feeling that she must be just about due for another dose of pain medication but when I checked with the nurse I learned that she was still 2hrs from her next dose.  Luckily, they had just given her the Flexeril and anti-nausea medication which both make her extremely groggy so once I got her in bed she immediately fell asleep.

Here's to hoping tonight is a good night!!