Another day, another accomplishment

Today marks 6 days that Stacy has been at UNC.  The first hours were critical, the next day a little better.  Everyday has seen its fair share of ups and downs.  We've all laughed, we've cried.  But no matter what, we are always strong.

Sunday was another day of milestones.  Early that morning, they came in and took the suction off of Stacy's arm.  They say that it looks great; there is no redness or irritation.  Stacy continued to get in and out of bed and sitting in her chair.  She decided early afternoon that she wanted to take a walk, so the nurse came in and unhooked all of her tubes.  The nurse and I got her up, put a robe on her and we proceeded to walk!  For her first time walking in 5 days, she did great!  She walked the whole way around the ICU unit and then came back in and rested for a little while.  Later in the evening, she walked a couple more laps around, and then one more before bed.  As long as she feels like walking, we'll go all over the hospital, if that makes her happy.  She seems to have the energy, and the pain is managed by her drug pump. 

For all the good points, there are some bad.  We found out yesterday that she may not be home before Christmas Eve, but we're still very hopeful.  The thing she misses the most right now is her children.  She's also battling with the fact that she cant have any fluids orally.  She just wants one sip of water and it would be the greatest thing on earth.  She's also dealing with the emotions of going through such a traumatic surgery and experience altogether.  We try to reassure her that she's allowed to feel whatever emotion she faces, and though we may not necessarily understand, we're here to help her through it.  As we all know, Stacy is an incredibly strong - might I add, stubborn - woman.  When she gets it set in her head to do something, nothing can stop her.  Right now, her main focus is getting home with her kids for Christmas Eve.  I feel certain that she'll be there.  But if not, Christmas will wait....

They moved her to a room today.  She's hopefully going shortly to have her G Tube put in, so that hopefully they can remove the feeding tube from her nose tomorrow.  The stitches really irritate her and cause a lot of tenderness in her nostril.  So the sooner the better for that.  There is also hope that the drain tubes will come out of her neck tomorrow.  (I've not explained these, so let me do so... She has 2 tubes on the right side of her neck that are used to drain blood, fluids from the flap and sinus cavities.  This is to make sure that no bacteria gets caught in there and causes infection for the artery and its new home.)  The PT came in today and said that she should try to walk a little bit more everyday, continuing to take bigger steps each time.

Each day continues along the roller coaster ride.  She has ups and downs, but we know that one day she'll look back and know that every step was worth it.  We continue to hope for a special delivery on Christmas Eve feel optimistic about it.  Keep Stacy and our family in your prayers as we stand as a united front against this battle.  We will be behind her and by her side every step of the way.  The support that everyone has shown means so much to all of us and we thank you for all of your love, prayers and encouragement.

Sincerely,
Amanda