8/22 - A Day After Surgery

We took advantage of every available visiting hour in the ICU today, 12pm -6pm and then 8pm-9pm. Kristine seemed to improve with every hour that passed. We first saw her in the morning while she was still intubated and unable to speak -- the respirator and feeding tubes reaching down into her lungs and stomach through her mouth. When asked how she was doing she pointed to the tubes in her mouth and then turned her thumb down expressing her discomfort.

Even while on pain medication she became more lucid and interactive throughout the day, although she did a good bit of sleeping. Once she was extubated she felt better, however, she said that the experience of having the tubes pulled from her throat was THE most terrible thing she had ever felt.

There's still a lot of fluid in her lungs from surgery and from intubation. She needs to expel the fluid by coughing, a process that is hard for us to watch, but most certainly and excruciatingly painful for Kristine to experience. With each cough she clasps her heart shaped pillow, which the hospital gives to patients for this very purpose, against her chest to ease the pain. It is a slow, weak ragged cough that is repeated several times, often for several minutes, until relief is found.

Kristine will be in the ICU for another day. She will move to a regular floor tomorrow evening, provided that she continues to recover as planned.