Bed goes up, bed goes down

Her heart seems to be doing better today. They've taken her off of oxygen and her blood pressure has gone down quite a bit (I learned today that when she went to the emergency room on Thursday, her bp was 210 over 100 something). No one has given us the report on the echocardiogram that they did yesterday, though. You try to be patient (no pun intended ... but, yeah)--knowing that they have so many other patients to look after. But then, ugh, would it be that difficult to be a little more efficient?

Or a little quieter?! I swear--all the rolling carts and beeping IV monitors and daughters screaming at their dads, "POP, YOU CAN'T GET UP OR THEY'LL RESTRAIN YOU."

Oh, and also, very hard to get straight answers. The pulmonologist said that her heart was struggling because of all the fluid retention in her body--but he couldn't tell us whether the lung lesions were also causing stress on the heart. And whereas her oncologist wanted her to get a renal ultrasound done because her creatinine levels have been steadily increasing (a sign of kidney failure), the pulmonologist said that the increased level was a side effect of the lasix she's been taking to help get rid of some of the extra fluid in her body. It can't be that much of a guessing game! But it can.

Otherwise, she's been nauseous for the greater part of the day. A little less loopy. And she'll also be getting a blood transfusion tonight--two units--because her hemoglobin count was low again. The order for the transfusion went in at 9 am ... and she still hadn't gotten it by the time we left at 9 pm.

Still--I'm thankful. The hospital is giving her body all those things (albeit slowly) that it doesn't seem to be supplying on its own.

Tired. And there has to be a dignified way to share how my mom's antics with her hospital bed this morning reminded me of that episode of The Simpsons. But, nope, too tired to try.