The Roller Coaster, Part 1

Well, it's been quite a week. Hopefully there won't be a Roller Coaster, Part 2.

Sonja was extubated on Sunday from the ventilator, and began the task of breathing unassisted. On Monday, she was doing well enough to be moved from her room in the full ICU to what they describe as a "step-down" unit; it's still on the ICU floor, but it's part of a system of progressive care that begins once she's clearly out of immediate danger. Sonja was by Monday starting to talk a bit more coherently, spending less time in Crazyland as her body continued to metabolize and eliminate the heavy sedatives and pain killers she had been on for so long. All very exciting.

Some time on Monday she started to develop a fever. By Monday night it was worse. I never did get the actual numbers on it.....her temperature here is taken in Celsius, and "normal" ranges between 36.5 and 37.5. She was in the 38's and 39's; I'll let those of you who remember that formula from Physics or Chemistry or whatever the hell it was to figure that out in Fahrenheit. Bottom line is she was burning up, and again they couldn't figure out why. Cultures were drawn to determine the nature of this new infection (assuming it wasn't just a return of whatever brought her to this state in the first place....always the worst fear), and finally by late Tuesday they discovered that several of the catheter lines she still has running in her arms, groin and chest had become contaminated by bacteria....and a healthy dose of anti-biotics took care of it. She was on the mend again by Thursday morning, and began her physical thereapy in earnest (I wasn't there for it, I'm sorry to say, as I had to be in Ithaca for a few hours that afternoon, but according to our friend Howard Kaye who was minding the bedside in my absence, she and the Physical Therapist Guy exchanged a few choice words with each other....."I think I'm done rolling over for now, thank you very much!!".....as her doctor said to her this morning, "Frustration is a good thing!!"). She's also on real food now again (if, given the nature of hospital cafeterias, you'll forgive the overstatement), and is less and less groggy/foggy/delerious as the days go on. She still has no real conception of time (or place for that matter....on Wed. morning when asked the "Do you know where you are?" question, she blithely told the nurse she was in "Jamaica!!".....then again, maybe for all intents and purposes she was).

And today, Friday, has been another good day. Her Mom comes tomorrow for a 7 day visit (breathe!), and they're hoping in the next few days to see real progress from her kidneys...fingers crossed. Anyway, we're going one day at a time; taking care of today's care and letting tomorrow take care of itself.

Thanks again to all who have been kind enough, and for so very many of you, generous enough to help us get through this extraordinay event. And to the many of you who have this week emailed and or phoned with your thoughts and best wishes, please forgive me if I haven't yet had the opportunity to respond.....but I hope you know the difference you all have made, how much it has meant and how it has saved us to know, as our friend Scott Mann put it recently, "that (we) have a small army of true friends standing behind (us) and ready to help!!!!!".

More to come soon. Love from us both!!!

-- Paul