Tues 7/15

Jana is being released today! Each day she continues to do better, and last night she got a good nights rest without waking. She's going home to her parents for now, and goes back for a follow up with the doctor in a few weeks. Such great news to get to type!!!

Sun night 7/13

I got some details on this weekend's events. They ended up having to open up the catheter late Saturday night for a little bit, because the pressure did get too high again. Regardless, she was still doing a pretty good job of naturally recirculating the blood and fluids, and they took the catheter out around 2am Sat night/ Sunday morning. This morning they did another CAT scan and things looked good still. The doctor wanted her out of ICU, saying that staying there would increase the chances of pneumonia or blood clots. She's now in a private room in the Harris tower. They have reduced her pain meds. She's beginning to eat again. I saw her this evening and she looked GREAT. She had that sparkle in her eye, she was sitting up joking with visitors, and really just seemed like her "old self" again. Her next CAT scan is scheduled for Tuesday. We don't know the timeline or plan of action for recovery yet.
Visiting hours are anytime now (I think) in her new room, though she will probably need lots of rest to heal.
Thanks for your prayers. They are working!

Sun 7/13

Aneta just called and said Jana is being moved to Harris RM 427. She said they removed the catheter around 2am! I'll post more details as I get them. I'm going to try to get up there before 6 (dinner plans), so hopefully I'll have more to report tonight. Praise God :-)

Fri 7/11

Last night I was able to see Jana. They clamped off the catheter about 6pm on Thursday. She did ok that night, but around 6 the next morning her pain got progressively worse (as expected) because of the pressure. The good news is the pressure stabilized (rather then continue to build) even with it clamped, so that is very promising that her body is circulating the blood/ fluids as they had hoped. The CAT scan confirmed that. They were hoping the doctor would be back in late last night to give an update, but I left close to midnight and he hadn't come by. So unless something has changed, it's looking like she is not going to need the shunt. The doctor is still concerned about the risk of infection, so likely he will make a firm decision on surgery very soon. (And either take out the catheter or put in the shunt.) Last night she was mainly just bearing the pain, but did have moments of alertness and small conversation. The pressure while I was there was in the 'teens, but sometimes did climb to the low 20s. She's got thrush (yeast in her mouth I think) and being treated for that, but did manage to have a couple of bites at lunch, and one bite of cracker later w/ some milk. They were planning to do another CAT overnight to monitor progress. No word today yet, on those results. Keep those prayers coming... Jana and her family really appreciate them!

Thurs afternoon 7/10

Aneta just called me with an update. The doctor is very concerned about the risk of infection, and should things take a turn for the worse, she would likely get spinal meningitis. The doctor basically said if it were to get that bad, it would be too late for the shunt surgery. He clarified that the 48 hour window started after they put the replacement catheter in.

They have been monitoring the pressure in her head, keeping it at a 20 or below. (Basically that's like having a big, fat free-flowing drain, so little pressure builds). They are now at that 48 hour checkpoint, and are going to increase that pressure (so fluids won't drain so easily) over the next few hours, until it gets to a 25, and this is leading up to clamping it off entirely. She will probably have a rough night, as the pressure builds, and will not be given as much pain medicine so they can get a clear picture of her current status. The last time they did this increase in pressure, it made Jana quite sick. They will make the decision on the shunt probably tomorrow, after they have a chance to see what her body will do independently. She will get another CAT scan at that time too.
So the next day or two are quite critical in determining the course of action, since the threat of spinal meningitis is so great.
Please continue to lift Jana and her family up in your prayers!

Thurs 7/10

Two more things:
I talked to Leah last night, and she said the physical therapist was in with Jana again yesterday (though Jana didn't remember), and Ryan went and saw her today and he said they had her up and in a chair for a short while. Also she hasn't been coughing like she was previously, so that's good news! Guess I had 3 things to add, huh? LOL

Jana Wed 7/9

Notice: Jana's new room is # 3307

It's been a few days since I've seen Jana, so I apologize for not having recent updates. Of course anyone that wants to leave news, your thoughts, or an update, you are always welcome to leave a comment on this blog after the latest entry.
I went up tonight and got lots of Jana time! I really noticed a significant change in her speech. She was more fluent and she spoke faster than she has since being in the hospital. On previous visits, sometimes she would take pauses to think of answers or come up with words, but tonight our conversations seemed almost effortless and were quick paced. There were still some moments that were a little foggy for her, but noticeably fewer! She still doesn't have much of an appetite, and her head hurts to varying degrees, but that is to be expected for a while.

Now to catch you up on the last few days... They got the CAT scan results back from Saturday, and it did show improvement. Yesterday, the doctor replaced her catheter to reduce risk of infection, and gave her some preventative antibiotics. In preparation for this, they had to clamp it closed (meaning the blood couldn't drain for about a day) so they when they did the surgery they could get a clearer picture of what was going on. The bad thing is, since it couldn't drain, the blood wasn't escaping and that built up pressure was extremely painful for Jana. Needless to say, her headaches were much worse the last couple of days because of this. After they got the new catheter put in, it resumed draining and she got some relief again. They did another CAT scan today, but the results were unchanged from the last one (though maybe that has to do with them changing out the catheter and it not being able to drain the whole time). The doctor said they are going to wait another 48 hours, and then clamp the catheter closed, and at that time they will evaluate her to see if her body will compensate for the drain and circulate the fluids naturally. If not, they are planning to insert a shunt (which I believe is permanent). That surgery would happen early next week. Please Please Please pray that her body will be healed enough by that time, so that she won't require that surgery and need the shunt!
Her parents wanted me to thank everyone again for the love an support they have received thus far- from visits, calls, food, and especially prayers! Even the doctor made a comment about how many visitors Jana has been having, saying what a loved girl she must be! Her room is decorated with cards and crosses, and homemade pictures from kids, and she is never short on company it seems, which she really appreciates. Jana and her family are extremely grateful for the love everyone has shown in so many ways!

Jana Sat 7/5

I tried to see Jana today, but she wasn't able to take visitors this afternoon. Poor thing, she had to get a new IV put in, and it took 3 tries for the nurse to get it inserted properly! Afterwards, she was comforted by her parents, and she was able to get a little bit of rest too. It was a tough afternoon with pain, agitation, restlessness and response to the pain meds. She often needs Benadryl to counter the side effects of other meds, but the dosage frequency isn't matched (for the two) so basically she sometimes has to endure symptoms of an "allergic reaction" before she can get the next dose of Benadryl, and then there is truly physical relief. They also did another CAT scan today, but didn't have the results yet (at the time I left).

Backing up, Thursday night, I was there late. She talked to the doctor about her headaches, and he added a new pain medication which should give her some relief, though they are still working on determining the best dosage. She is still pretty coherent, but continues to struggle periodically with timelines and events. We're not sure how much and to what extent the meds are affecting her memory at this point. Thursday afternoon, a physical therapist came in to do some leg exercises, I'm assuming to prevent muscle atrophy. That night she was coughing, which is extremely painful both in her chest, and her head due to the pressure. The doctor said that was normal and to practice deep breathing to expand her lungs. They have given her a machine to assist in this treatment, though it hadn't arrived while I was there. She hasn't had any restraints for several days (just a precautionary measure so that she doesn't pull out tubing) when she is restless or in pain. Hopefully those days are behind us.
Jana is now taking food trays, but has primarily only been drinking juice and milk. She was complaining that it is difficult to chew. Today though, she had some graham crackers with peanut butter! Not only will this help her physically, it is also beneficial for her to take meds with food in her stomach.
On a side note (if anyone actually reads this, haha) the waiting room does have a refrigerator, but any food items you might bring for the family need to be inside a labeled plastic bag (like a Wal-Mart sack). Also, the family has a spiral in the waiting room for guests to "sign in" to keep track of visitors.

Wed 7/2 pm

I went up to the hospital late last night. When I got there, the consensus was Jana had had a headache for most of the day and was in a lot of pain. The doctor was up there late, so fortunately they were able to talk to him about it. He said it was to be expected for her to have these headaches for quite a while, due to the excess fluid in her brain. Aneta brought up the CAT scans showing similar images, and he again said that was normal b/c of the slow process of the catheter. He did say that there's a good possibility that they will need to replace the one she has now, to reduce any risk of infection. Jana's equally big complaint last night were her ears hurting (internally). The doctor examined her ears, and saw nothing too unusual that would concern him, though he said for them to tell the meds doctor in the morning. Aneta did mention to the doctor that Jana has had a history of ear problems.

Now despite the pain, when I was in the room with Jana, her memory was the best yet! Though she seemed to have to really focus to come up with some answers (like the doctor asking what the date was), she did quite well. Best of all, she was able to stay on topic, rather than confuse events or dates. That alone was very encouraging!

Jana Wed 7/2

Katie went up to see Jana today, and she said they got the results from yesterday's scan. She said the cat scan showed the same; there was no change. The good thing is she is NOT bleeding anymore. She is just producing fluid. The nurse said the reason they say she is not bleeding is because if she were, her health would be declining (and it's not). Katie also said she was VERY alert today, even better than yesterday. She apparently remembered some obscure details from a conversation they had had! I'm going to try to go up tonight, and hopefully will have more good news to report!

Jana Tues 7/1

Went up to see Jana today. Her head was hurting, so she was pretty drowsy from the pain meds. The neurosurgeon had stopped by and ordered another CAT scan. No word yet on what those results are. It looks like they will be doing scans every few days to moniter her progress.

She seems really restless sometimes, and wants to move around in bed, but it is very important that she keep her body "straight" so that the catheter isn't obstructed and can drain properly. You can tell that it gets frustrating for her. Jana never has been one to just lay around and do nothing you know!
Please keep her and her family in your prayers!