Latest update from Terry...
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Hi All,
Well, this was a great weekend. Thank you to so many of you who sent
birthday cards to Lo. We have them plastered all over the wall in front
of her so she can see them when she wakes up. They have been a source of
interest to the staff which has a secondary benefit. We wanted them to
see this is Lo Detrich -- a vibrant young woman, to say the least.
And, she is waking up more and more. She is not nearly as concerned
looking either. She opens those big blue eyes and calmly looks around.
She looks at us and we think she sees us and tries to communicate.
Sometimes we understand what she is asking and sometimes we don't.
One of the doctors explained to me that being on the vent has allowed Lo
to get the rest she wanted. Before, she was panting at the rate of 30 to
40 breaths a minute. Now, the vent provides her 16 breaths a minute. This
has slowed her heart rate down from a constant 130-140 to 88 to 98 beats
per minute. Her blood pressure also continues to be almost normal. The
fact that she is taking deeper, slower breaths also allows the vent to
get rid of CO2 better. This doesn't always happen with patients, so we
are very thankful.
There are so many family and friends, and friends and strangers of family
and friends who have become a part of our lives, who have offered support
through prayers, cards, emails, etc.
We do not want to overwhelm you with these email updates. You can sure
feel free to delete them. But so many have asked for them more often that
we will try to send one update daily, both on regular email and via
Caring Bridges.
Love,
The Detrichs
***************************************
Hi All,
Well, this was a great weekend. Thank you to so many of you who sent
birthday cards to Lo. We have them plastered all over the wall in front
of her so she can see them when she wakes up. They have been a source of
interest to the staff which has a secondary benefit. We wanted them to
see this is Lo Detrich -- a vibrant young woman, to say the least.
And, she is waking up more and more. She is not nearly as concerned
looking either. She opens those big blue eyes and calmly looks around.
She looks at us and we think she sees us and tries to communicate.
Sometimes we understand what she is asking and sometimes we don't.
One of the doctors explained to me that being on the vent has allowed Lo
to get the rest she wanted. Before, she was panting at the rate of 30 to
40 breaths a minute. Now, the vent provides her 16 breaths a minute. This
has slowed her heart rate down from a constant 130-140 to 88 to 98 beats
per minute. Her blood pressure also continues to be almost normal. The
fact that she is taking deeper, slower breaths also allows the vent to
get rid of CO2 better. This doesn't always happen with patients, so we
are very thankful.
There are so many family and friends, and friends and strangers of family
and friends who have become a part of our lives, who have offered support
through prayers, cards, emails, etc.
We do not want to overwhelm you with these email updates. You can sure
feel free to delete them. But so many have asked for them more often that
we will try to send one update daily, both on regular email and via
Caring Bridges.
Love,
The Detrichs