Waiting Game

(JP here). Tuesday was hectic. Anne started Ampicillin, a more appropriate antibiotic for her infection. She was taken down for an ECG, then a VQ (Ventilation-Perfusion) Scan, then had a chest X-ray in her room. (One nasty thing was the 1-hour wait after the VQ for a porter to bring her back to her room. We intend to complain about it).
Doctors and others (including the Rapid Response team) were concerned about the build-up of fluid, and nevertheless recommended a blood transfusion, and tube insertion last night. In fact her indicators improved a bit, so they decided against both, although she is due to have the nephrostomy tubes today at 1 pm. After she returned to her room she was given an oxygen mask to increase the flow to her blood, and felt much better, although the mask and the excess oxygen did not help her sleep.
Still, she was perky this morning, but now sedated as she is preparing for the tubes.
We have also been contacted by our dear thoracic surgeon friend from Minneapolis, who may be trying to help from afar - and any such help is most welcome!

UPDATE: Anne's tubes are in; she said she liked the doctor, who explained things well, the procedure went fine, and she already has a bagfull of urine. Still a bit drowsy, looking forward to eating tonight...

Postscript: Eric here, at the hospital. I just wanted to add to the above that since yesterday, early evening, Anne's energy has gone up and her nausea has diminished. The difference was enormous, and tremendously uplifting (at least for me). On Tuesday morning, sitting up and brushing her teeth was an ordeal that made her extremely nauseous. Walking to the bathroom was not an option. On Wednesday morning, sitting up and brushing her teeth was a breeze and she felt fine. She walked to the bathroom against orders and literally hopped back into bed afterwards. We aren't sure what to attribute the change to, but the oxygen mask seemed to be most responsible.

This change in feeling has continued today, and if we're lucky, she'll be able to hold food down. She certainly seems to have a healthier appetite at the moment, which will soon be put to the test. It's perhaps too soon to say we're out of the water, but I would say that the signs are encouraging. If nothing else, it's wonderful to see her feeling much better and to have long conversations with her.