Mary Mom Update--Hospital Visit

Sunday, I visited my Mary Mom at the hospital.  She didn't wake up while we were there, and this was of some concern to the nursing staff.  They have been trying to get her to wake up, and she just hasn't been.

The kids and I noticed that her hand had a tremor, so I held it.  This concerned me, because I hadn't seen it do that before in her sleep.  I asked the nurse about it, and she said that it started that morning, and she didn't know why.  They were concerned.

She is having to have breathing treatments which include the insertion of a tube down her throat.  They also put a device on the outside of her chest that pulsates, so that they can attempt to keep everything moving in her lungs.  I naturally assume that this is to prevent pneumonia, since she had fluid in her lungs when they flushed her body, pre-chemo.

This procedure can cause pain, so the doctor ordered Morphine as needed.  When she was awake on Saturday, the nurse asked her if she was in pain after she made a face that indicated that she might be.  She nodded her head affirmatively, so the nurse gave her a dose.  Then, the next day, they doubled the dose.  This didn't help the efforts to try and keep her awake, so yesterday, the doctor ordered a halt to the Morphine.  This is a relief, since it isn't known whether or not there ever was any pain.  My ex-husband says that she nods yes every time you ask her a yes or no question.  But yet, the constant sleep is a bigger problem, and the Morphine is only making it worse.

Her space in the room is small.  She shares it with 2 other patients.  We tried to brighten it up with a pretty card and a work of art by Lee.  My hope is that when she is coherent, she will see that we were there, and that we love her.

There is a possibility that she knows that we were there Sunday.  As I held her shaking hand, her thumb kept caressing mine.  I had been talking to her as though she were awake.  I told her that Natalie and Mardel have been canning and making jellies like mad-women, and that I needed her help with my tomato plant, since my tomatoes are splitting on top.  Then, I noticed her thumb.  I said, "Hey, I feel that.  Are you moving your thumb on purpose?"  She seemed to stroke my thumb more deliberately.  I hope it wasn't a coincidence.

She is so precious.  She looked so delicate.  Her coloring is great, and for a minute, I liked to think that she was just taking a little nap.  But I wished she was sitting up in her chair, just dozing through a Lifetime movie.

Thank you for all of your prayers.  It's great to give back like that.  I can guarantee, whether you know her or not, that she has probably prayed for you.  She is always praying for people she hears have the need.

My prayer for her, while she slept, was that God would join her in her dream, and that she would feel His presence, peace and hope.