Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Hoping To Get Out of ICU Today

We have a very nice nurse today in ICU. She is very positive and hopeful that Natalie may be able to get out of ICU today. She is the nicest nurse we've had since Natalie has been down here.

The ICU and the team here is so different from 7Long. They are trained to respond immediately to emergency situations so they don't tolerate any negotiations with Natalie. On Sunday, when Natalie asked if she could wait a little on the IV poke, the ICU doctor said to the nurses on 7Long "You let her negotiate?" One of the nurses said, "Yes, because it helps her feel better." They know Natalie so well up there on 7Long. They know that she doesn't like the procedures and pain that comes with her treatment, but she will ultimately cooperate if you give her a little control. Some things are not up for discussion, but the things that she can control (when she wants to take her medicine, who does she want to do the procedure, who she wants to be her nurse for the day, etc.) they let her decide. When Natalie had to come down to ICU, most of the nurses were heartbroken and felt as distressed as we did. It's great how they have become so much a part of our family through the past months and how much they love Natalie.

In ICU today, they took Natalie off of docamine (the medicine they were using to help get her blood pressure up)in hopes to see her body manage to maintain a good blood pressure on its own. They want to see her blood pressure above 85/50. They also started giving her some nutrition through her nose tube today after two days of not letting her eat anything. They gave her some blood as well and have scheduled a dentist to come out to check the cavity she has to make sure that is not another source of infection besides the strep that has been confirmed.

We appreciate all of you who have been praying for Natalie and those who have stayed up the past few nights praying for Natalie. Please continue to pray that she recovers from this infection and that we can leave ICU.

2 comments:

Jessica Rose said...

All of this is such a relief! Thanks for the update! We will keep praying vigilantly and fasting!!
Love you all,
The Croses

Yolanda said...

Natalie, i miss you! i'm praying for you to get out of the ICU and then we can play with all the elephants and penguins again. =)