DAY 7: Wife’s Update & Better News

Here we are at one full week of Christal being in the hospital. 

During the past week, as I’ve mentioned in several of the posts, no one was updating me every 12 hours about her condition like I was told I would be on Day One. I received a call yesterday from a great guy that works for the hospital’s excellence services. He asked how circumstances were and if I had any suggestions or comments toward how Christal’s care was and were they keeping in touch with me.

I responded kindly and informed him that (as of yesterday) 4 nights and 3 mornings had passed without anyone calling to update me on her condition. There was an obvious pause on his end. I further explained that the two NPs I told this to had said that they’d make sure the shift nurses would call, but no one had.

I also expressed how both Christal and I were against them giving her one drug, and even though we both had stated it, the NPs kept trying to push it on her. We talked about some other issues, and then he gave me his personal number to call if we had any further problems.

About an hour passed and he called me back. He said that the issue of no one calling me had been addressed and I should rest assured that it would not happen again. Then he said that the drug they were insisting she use was addressed and it was clear to the doctors and staff that it would not be administrated. He asked if I had any other issues or questions. I did not. Gracious, wonderful man.

Now, let’s elaborate the situation about the drug and NPs’ insistent directive that it should be used and thankfully, it was not. My wife was having great difficulty breathing and they kept turning up her oxygen and saying that she needed the drug to fight the viral pneumonia. They ‘didn’t understand’ why when she’d get up to go to the restroom that her heart rate spiked upward and her O2 dropped.

Last night, her nurse came to check on her and my wife had dozed off. She couldn’t breathe and when she was awakened, they turned up her 02 to 15. The nurse got someone from the respiratory department and they brought a different gauge for her nose. The former had been the normal thin tubing but my wife has a severe deviated septum, so the tube was not feeding her enough oxygen. When she moved or tried to lie to her side, it would slip loose, and she’d get even less oxygen. After hooking up the thicker one that fit her nose even better, she was able to finally get the air she needed. The nurse noticed upon her next return that Christal was looking better and she even told her how much better she looked.

Christal has more energy and sent me a pic of a bunny she drew with her art pencils and pad. It’s one of the cutest pictures she’s drawn. She was having all these problems because she wasn’t getting enough oxygen. We’re hopeful that she’s able to heal faster now and be out within a few days.

Imagine the damage that might have been done had she taken the drug.

Thanks for the prayers and kind words!