Post-Op Day 3

Ruby back in the good old days. Probably a little less than a month old here.


Our first family photo!

Ruby as of today. So sad to see her like this but she is still gorgeous.

Ruby condition has remained stable for today. Her fever has come down to an acceptable level without further need of Tylenol. Her heart rate has also slowed to a much more normal rate. Her blood pressure, however, has been rising to somewhat concerning levels. It has not spiked to the point where any medical intervention is needed, but the nurses and doctors are keeping vigilant watch on the numbers. Her urine output seems to also be at the level that is desired, but she is still on a low dose of Lasix. She will also be coming off of the Epinephrine soon due to the increased level of blood pressure.

Her G/J tube was successfully pulled by a general surgeon around 5:30 pm. The doctor had to make a small incision to extract the tube, but thankfully the procedure only took five minutes or so. Dan and I made sure there would be someone to administer anesthetics so that she wouldn't have one of her waking moments during the removal. We are very grateful that this issue has finally been resolved...at least for now. We only hope that when it is time to reinsert another G/J tube that the process will go as smoothly.

Dr. Tweddell also stopped by briefly to confirm that he will be closing Ruby's chest tomorrow morning at 7:30 am, barring no increase in swelling. I hope that with this closure Ruby can truly begin to heal. From the time it is closed I can have some assurance that her pain will be decreasing day by day. She will possibly be extubated at some point over the next few days as well. As I said in my previous post, I both anticipate and fear these milestones that bring Ruby closer to being awake. I am so afraid of the pain she will have to endure. I only wish I could take on all that pain myself so that she would never have to hurt.