Day 11 and Counting

What a day we've had! They removed Amanda's neck brace and the ventilator. The doctors told Trina yesterday that it was a possibility they would remove the vent and NOT do a tracheotomy, but my brother-in-law asked that we not pass along that information in case it never materialized. BUT IT DID!

Amanda's throat was very sore and her voice was so soft you could barely hear her. We thought it would be several days before she'd be able to talk loud enough but, by this evening, she was chatting. They changed her pain medication again and she was quite loopy and had some very funny things to say, including telling her mother that she needed some clothes so she could go sit in the waiting room with us and watch t.v.

I got to go in and see her. I kidded her about setting the nurses straight tomorrow after a good night's rest and she smiled. She was getting very tired after talking so much.

It's amazing how something so small as the removal of ONE tube could have such a huge impact on all of us. Her medical condition really hadn't changed, but just being able to talk to her after 11 days of standing by her bedside not knowing if she'd live or die was an unbelievably good thing.

Now, the challenges. Her white cell count is elevated, which probably indicates infection. They believe it's due to her central line and are moving the line to the other side of her body. They've taken blood samples for cultures to find out if it's just an infection in the port or if it's in her bloodstream. Pray that it's only in the port.

They also decided today to do a cat scan. She has a concern in one of her legs that they're trying to better understand. Pray that it's nothing, please.

She's still a very sick young woman with some potentially serious problems looming over her but, for tonight at least, we are all very happy. As I was getting ready to leave the hospital tonight, her boyfriend, his best friend and my niece's best friend decided to walk out to the parking garage with me. As we waited for the elevator, her boyfriend softly said what was on all of our thought: "At least I'll be able to sleep tonight!"