Friday, May 25, 2007

Day 3 at the Hospital


Overnight, Ruthlande's blood pressure rose steadily and her heartbeat went down somewhat. She also became more unresponsive (she hasn't had pain medication since 8 PM last night, so it's not due to that). The nurse was concerned because these things could be signs that she's not tolerating the pressure in her head, so she called Dr. Ruge (the neurosurgeon). Of course, as soon as Dr. Ruge came in, Ruthlande was suddenly wide awake and much more responsive than she had been all night and morning. So, he would like to just keep watching her at this point. He says it's certainly not an emergency and she may just be re-adjusting to the increased pressure. As of right now, they're just continuing to monitor her.

She did do a bit better as the day went on. She was awake off and on and was much more alert when she was awake. The nurse said that they are thinking her elevated blood pressure might be normal for her (that might have been her blood pressure when she was in Haiti, before her sac started leaking). By evening, She was really awake and responsive. And she drank a bit more milk as well. She also responded to me for the first time - I gave her some milk and she wouldn't drink anymore, so I said "Fini?" and she gave me a little grunt. I asked her again, just to be sure and again with the grunt. You'd never think a little sound would make me so happy, but I was thrilled!!

Her skin is also looking MUCH better, which is a wonderful thing. They've got her covered in Aquaphor, so she's this little greasy girl, but it's really helping. I still haven't seen her move her legs - just her feet and toes - but she's still not moving around that much in general, so we'll have to wait and see.

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