Did I Say Feisty?

Kate spent a sleepless night with Ingrid in the PICU. The Pain Team was called frequently to adjust and administer medications. Early this morning, after several increasing doses of morphine, they tried some anti-anxiety medication to calm down our raging redhead. During the night she managed to pull her NG tube out of her nose twice and the IV out of her hand once. The last while Kate struggled to hold her down! Kate finally made the doctors understand that the problem wasn't pain but that Ingrid was pissed off! Shortly after I arrived this morning they gave her a dose of Adavan (sp?) which did the trick and she slept for about three hours straight.

When she wakes up a little she wants to roll over and move about. She has been up on her hands and knees several times. She is obviously in some discomfort and periodically flails about. This is a problem mostly because she has a bunch of tubes and wires that get hopelessly tangled. And a nasal cannula was added this afternoon because her blood-oxygen level kept dipping. The doctor said that she's not taking deep breaths because it hurts too much. So, the main issue still is pain management.

Kate held Ingrid for a little while this afternoon while her nurses changed the sheets on the bed. And late this afternoon Anna and Grandma came by for a short visit. Here's hoping that everyone can maintain for the duration: Ingrid needs to rest and recover, Kate needs strength to make it through on hospital catnaps, Anna needs strength to deal without her mother around, and Grandma needs strength to deal with a wild 4-year-old! (Me? I'm fine. I get to go home a sleep at night.)