Dorie Here- Gwyn is getting her spunk back

Thursday was a very good day. I came in to Gwyn's room around 11:00am. She was resting in bed. She had been working hard that morning.  At lunch she had asian stir fry which was pork and vegetables over rice.  and she said, 'This actually looks good, even though it takes 4 times as much energy and it is still hard to swallow." She almost finished the whole thing including 1/2 of a large yellow tomato and some small yellow cherry tomatoes I'd brought from the garden. 
As she finished lunch, her nurse Steve, a student nurse Racine and the CNA Torg came in to remove her chest tubes.  She offerered them part of her tomato, as I was slicing it up she said "Hey make sure you save some for me. "  The student nurse said that it tasted like it already came with the dressing, it was so good.

On the wall across from the bed where the patients can see it is, there is a small whiteboard. On this board are written the date and the names of the nurse, CNA and respiratory therapist. Torg changed the names and put a smiley face in the RT's name and put a frowny face in the O of his name. When Gwyn noticed this she made him to make his O a smiley face. When Torg and I joked about it she said," Hey I have to look at it all day, I don't want to see a frowny face!"  I asked Torg about it later and he said it was a little joke that he did on with the other staff. A smiley face means day shift, a frowny face means night shift. Torg is a tall blond Swedish man. Gwyn's heritage is also part Swedish. Earlier that morning they had had a good chat about Swedish food, especially pickled pigs feet and the fish.  As part of Gwyn's healing process the Medical center gives each patient a very firm heart shaped pillow with a marker pen. The pillow is to be hold on the chest to hold the incision for support while coughing. Torg wrorte on her pillow in Swedish, Gwyn really liked that. Lots of other staff have written on her pillow too.

They staff removed Gwyn's chest tubes.  There were twin tubes on both sides of her chest cavity to drain the fluid out. They practised wirh Gwyn in counting and holding her breath, then they pulled them out.  They also took off the steri strip which was covering her incision (it looks good) and removed the four pacer wires from her heart. The surgeon attached the wires to her heart in surgery. They wanted them in place in case they were needed. Gwyn said it felt very weird as they were pulled out one by one.  Exhausted, she then zonked into a deep sleep for several hours. Later another nurse took off another IV tubing and bag. She still has 2 IV's in her arm but they are not attached to anything. So all she has now is her oxygen and her catheter. It is getting much easier to help her move around without all the lines.  The chest tubes trained into a white square box. On one side the fluid entered and was measured. on the other side was a column of blue liquid that bubbled like as fish tank. That fluid kept the suction up to draw the fluid off the chest. I noticed yesterday, after the chest tube was out I was missing that bubbling sound.  It has been very soothing.

Gwyn had visitors yesterday - Her Mom, dad and a niece who brought them, came to visit. They were very happy to see her, as she was them. She also was able to make a few short phone calls, She has also had folks from the neighborhood come by. Even though it tired her out, she is obviously feeling better. 
The doctor said she can come home today or tomorrow -we will find out today. I'm glad for all the technology and staff that has been there for Gwyn but it will be good to have her home.

Dorie