Colleen[4]: Status report

[mdlbear]

Colleen is now ensconced in her new room (4319) -- it's closer to the elevator, for what that's worth; the view out the window is a blank wall; there's good cell reception but, as usual, no wi-fi. They should be able to wheel her to someplace where she can use her laptop, though.

She got her PICC line in (for IV feeding) about 4pm, and was about to get fed as I was leaving. I read the user's manual for the PICC -- slightly scary. (It stands for Peripherally-Inserted Central Catheter, in case you were wondering.)

The fistula appears to have gotten somewhat bigger since Monday, they will wait a week to see if it starts healing properly before deciding whether to repair it surgically. Grumph. I'm not quite as worried as she is at this point, but apparently she's not exactly a straightforward case. Trust our family to be interesting -- in the sense of the old Chinese curse.

Please don't bring her anything to eat or drink; she can have the occasional hard candy if it's clear and not artificially sweetened. Flowers are good.

 

One amusing quote from yesterday: we were casting about for the best phrase to describe chaoswolf's role as interim alpha female in the household, and I simply couldn't resist "beta bitch." She took it in good humor -- with a wolf persona she can't very well argue that it's the wrong term. Colleen got a kick out of it this morning, too. So that's official now.

Comments

[chipuni.livejournal.com]

My best to you, to Chaos, and to the Younger Sibling.

I stopped by her bed for an hour today. She was very talkative, and full of memories. (Okay. Just a LITTLE loopy after the morphine kicked in.)

All of you will pull through.

[mdlbear]

Many thanks!

Morphine is Good Stuff, no doubt about it. And she's mainlining it. Better living through chemistry...

Yeah, we'll make it. We're all too weird not to.

[johno.livejournal.com]

Alas our lives are packed. We are going figure a time to visit. Hopefully combined with a Wed at the house.


So can we call Chaos "BB" now?

[lisa-marli.livejournal.com]

I won't use the term on Chaos, I LIKE my fingers, thank you very much. :D
PICC is less dangerous than the Main Central Line they put in Big Harold, and he can be pretty weird too. But he had no problems with his line and it did its job with grace and left without any problems.
She should be able to move around a lot more comfortably with a PICC, won't set off alarms as much, and they don't collapse every few days like regular IV lines do. And considering how long she will be on IV feedings, that is a good thing.
*hugs*

[mdlbear]

Yes, looks like well-understood technology, and she seemed quite comfortable with it when I saw her this evening.

[jcfiala.livejournal.com]

Good luck with the whole hospital thing, and with getting her up on the internet. I was lucky, when my wife was breifly in the hospital for her Gastric Bypass, that the hospital did have free wifi, which let me stay in touch at work while I was helping my wife.

[mdlbear]

Thanks. Getting her networked in the room looks next to impossible unless I want to buy a cellular modem and hack together a bridge, or add data service to her phone (and upgrade it to a smartphone).

I suppose the other option would be a Kindle.

[sdorn.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry, but reading you refer to "alpha" and "beta" in anything other than a software-development sense and... I engage in a bit of mental double-take. Alpha male, beta male, and Male 1.0?

[mdlbear]

You forgot RC1, RC2, ...