Saturday, April 10, 2010

Back in the Hospital

I didn't have a chance to post last night, so I have a lot to say. Melanie was admitted back into the hospital today. Yesterday, she was still so out in another world. My mother and I worked hard to get her dinner pills down. We got 6 down, just in time for her to have to take her night pills. She was still in a lot of pain, shaky, slow, and mentally not all there. My mom called and spoke to one of the doctors. He told my mom to bring Melanie in today, and that they may admit her.

When they arrived at the hospital, they admitted her and started some testing. They took several tubes of blood, swabbed for some cultures, and scheduled some more intense testing. They did a CAT scan of her leg. They discovered that the hematoma is actually getting bigger. Not only does she have a bruise on her hip, but now she has a large bruise on the back of her knee. This is the source of all her extreme pain. The doctors said that her shaking could just be from the pain. They are upping her platelets to try and help stop the bleeding.

They performed an MRI of her head. They wanted to make certain that her altered state and slow responsiveness was in fact due to medication and nothing else. They did not find anything out of the ordinary, but they did discover that she has a sinus infection. This is probably why her white blood count had dropped today. They think maybe that is why her hematoma is not healing, because she is fighting this infection. They have started her on some antibiotics.

Melanie was still slow and altered today, because she was taking Morphine most of the day. This evening, they are starting her on a pain pump. Hopefully this will relieve her pain, without all the sedation affects! She is just in soooo much pain! On a good note, her kidney function looked a lot better today!

Dr. Hoda said they are going to keep her for a couple of days to get things under control. Melanie was not thrilled, but I'm sure she understands it is the best place for her right now.

I took a few pictures yesterday:

Melanie is getting some hair back. It looks pretty dark to me!


Because her kidneys were not doing great, her feet are really swollen right now. It is amazing how huge they are! It doesn't hurt, and hopefully the swelling will go down as her kidney function keeps improving.


She was able to lay next to Kaden yesterday. School will be out soon, and she will be able to spend a lot of quality time with him!

I want to say a few words about our mother. As I watched her patience with Melanie this week, I was amazed. She had some tears and frustration (understandably), but she never faltered on her constant ability to take care of Melanie's every need. She knows her pills inside and out. I am not even sure how to put into words the love I feel for her and the example of Christ like love she shows. If there is a Mother of the Year award, she would win!

Thank you, mom for showing us all how to care for others!

5 comments:

The Gayler/Call Clan said...

What amazes me is how you Mom can remember her meds and Mel's too! She is such a loving Mother and a great example of how Mother's should be... We love you guys! Hang in there Mel.. it looks like it is only up hill from here :)

Tanille and Bill said...

Dear Melanie, I'm sorry that you had to be put back in the hospital. I think of you every day and hope that you will get better soon! It's so awesome that we have Mothers that takes good care of us when we really need them!!!

Best of Luck to you and your recovery!

Love Ya Taniller!

Balls Fam said...

"Mel is in so much pain" is an understatement. She is hurting so bad right now that I think it is what is causing her unresponsiveness, more than the drugs. My opinion.

Miss Nelson said...

I'm praying for you and your sweet family, Mel! Hang in there! I sure hope they can get the pain under control quickly!

Jullie said...

Melanie, I'm so sorry! We'll keep praying for you and your family.