Morning after Surgery

I got to the hospital this morning and talked to Susan's nurse Brit before I went into her room. She said Susan had had a rough night and had thrown up several times. She had encouraged Susan to move her head and her arms and legs to prevent blood clots. She also told her that she might be at risk of pneumonia if she didn't start moving. They managed to get her to move enough to change her bedclothes for the first time since surgery.

Because the nausea was still pretty bad they started her on a steroid to take any possible pressure off of her brain (a common complication). Brit also told me that they might schedule a spinal tap if she didn't improve. We had read that this happens in 15% of patients. At this point, Brit said that Susan had started to respond better and she wondered if Susan was doing better without me there and she might act more needy if I was in the room.

I went into the room and Susan was in the exact same position as when I left her, but her bedclothes and towels were clean. She smiled and looked at me. I talked to her for a little bit and I noticed that she was definitely better. She can open her eyes for 5 or 10 seconds at a time and we talked for a few minutes. She could do neither last night without the world spinning.

She said she thought the steroids were working. I said good and you should keep moving your head and arms and legs because they are starting to talk about giving you a spinal tap. The next time the nurse came in and suggested Susan change her position, she agreed and completely rolled over on her side. The nurse actually had to tell her to slow down.

Since then she's had gingerale without getting sick. She's been much more responsive.