Two Weeks
Oxygen: 40%
Peep: 5
Two weeks into this ordeal Amacker is doing great. Really, she's the best she's been.
She's sleeping, but stirs when you stir her. Her neck is starting to look normal sized (it was very swollen), and though it's in a brace (has been since her neck surgery... just one of those plastic collar things) her color around her neck looks completely normal. It's hard to tell, but the bruising appears to be gone.
Amacker's mid section is still not all the way closed. The muscle and stuff is closed, but I'm told the area is too swollen to close her skin completely. It's covered with dressing, so I don't know what that area looks like... not sure I want to. Every time I've seen her she's been dressed in a smart hospital gown, complete with a Stanford crest on the chest.
Where they took the skin graft from her right leg (to cover her left shin) is healing nicely, and the parts of her right leg that aren't bandaged look great, too. You can see some of her stitches from her shin, as well as the places where they had originally placed hardware to keep her leg in the right position. Those stitches all look good.
Her left arm is still not set correctly, and looks to be at a slightly weird angle. I don't want to think about what they'll have to do to get that just right, but that should happen early next week.
And finally it seems that Amacker is breathing well. They've really reduced the amount of work the machine is doing for her. She coughs a bit, and winces when she does (I find myself forgetting that all her ribs on her left side were broken -- a completely debilitating injury on its own!). Of course, she doesn't make any noise when she coughs, but you can see it on the breathing machines and in her face.
There are a million other little processes that go on in our bodies, and hers seem to be getting back closer to normal. I'll spare you the details, but it's all good news.
I think my Dad is going to spend Father's Day weekend with my sister Alden near Chicago. It must be tough being a dad when your kids spread themselves out across the country. He'll be here next week when Amacker starts to wake up... we'll all be at her side soon enough.
With two weeks of looking after my sister, I feel closer to her than I have in a very long time, and yet we haven't said a word to each other... none that she'll remember. Strange. I also find myself wanting to hold my own kids a little tighter than I usually do. They're back with their mom tonight -- a Super-Mom if there ever was one -- but we'll be at soccer games together this weekend, and of course some sort of wonderful brunch on Sunday.
In the words of the late President Ford, "I'm grateful for every sunrise." Thanks to the amazing work of talented doctors, the sweet thoughts and prayers of loved ones near and far (all of you), and an amazing fighting spirit, Amacker is going to have many more sunrises. (though she has to stay up through the night to see them... she never wakes up that early.)
Peep: 5
Two weeks into this ordeal Amacker is doing great. Really, she's the best she's been.
She's sleeping, but stirs when you stir her. Her neck is starting to look normal sized (it was very swollen), and though it's in a brace (has been since her neck surgery... just one of those plastic collar things) her color around her neck looks completely normal. It's hard to tell, but the bruising appears to be gone.
Amacker's mid section is still not all the way closed. The muscle and stuff is closed, but I'm told the area is too swollen to close her skin completely. It's covered with dressing, so I don't know what that area looks like... not sure I want to. Every time I've seen her she's been dressed in a smart hospital gown, complete with a Stanford crest on the chest.
Where they took the skin graft from her right leg (to cover her left shin) is healing nicely, and the parts of her right leg that aren't bandaged look great, too. You can see some of her stitches from her shin, as well as the places where they had originally placed hardware to keep her leg in the right position. Those stitches all look good.
Her left arm is still not set correctly, and looks to be at a slightly weird angle. I don't want to think about what they'll have to do to get that just right, but that should happen early next week.
And finally it seems that Amacker is breathing well. They've really reduced the amount of work the machine is doing for her. She coughs a bit, and winces when she does (I find myself forgetting that all her ribs on her left side were broken -- a completely debilitating injury on its own!). Of course, she doesn't make any noise when she coughs, but you can see it on the breathing machines and in her face.
There are a million other little processes that go on in our bodies, and hers seem to be getting back closer to normal. I'll spare you the details, but it's all good news.
I think my Dad is going to spend Father's Day weekend with my sister Alden near Chicago. It must be tough being a dad when your kids spread themselves out across the country. He'll be here next week when Amacker starts to wake up... we'll all be at her side soon enough.
With two weeks of looking after my sister, I feel closer to her than I have in a very long time, and yet we haven't said a word to each other... none that she'll remember. Strange. I also find myself wanting to hold my own kids a little tighter than I usually do. They're back with their mom tonight -- a Super-Mom if there ever was one -- but we'll be at soccer games together this weekend, and of course some sort of wonderful brunch on Sunday.
In the words of the late President Ford, "I'm grateful for every sunrise." Thanks to the amazing work of talented doctors, the sweet thoughts and prayers of loved ones near and far (all of you), and an amazing fighting spirit, Amacker is going to have many more sunrises. (though she has to stay up through the night to see them... she never wakes up that early.)
5 Comments:
YAY amacker!
and thanks for all the updates --
we're checking this site a zillion times
a day, and it always feels good to hear
news.
comfortably numb stayed with me for
days.
xomike/gomonk (+ the gomonkettes)
. . .
I wish your dad was going to spend Father's Day with your sister Alden!
As you said, we'll all be together by Amacker's side soon enough.
Love you tons. More than tons. And thank you so much.
What a sweetheart you are! Amacker is so lucky to have such a dedicated brother. Really glad to hear how well she's progressing!
-Sara
If this were one of those sites where they donate money each time someone clicks on it, Amacker would be rolling in cash. Sweetie, we can't wait to hear that you are awake and breathing on your own. We're having a barbecue here at Graceland today, and everyone will be thinking of you and wishing you were with us.
-M. Nance
You wrote "Two weeks into this ordeal Amacker is doing great. Really, she's the best she's been."
My mom used to tell me she really loved children - ESPECIALLY when they were asleep!
Thanks again for all the updates!
E.P.
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home