Lost Track of Time

I think it’s been over a week and a half that Alma has been in the hospital now, and most of that time has been in ICU. That is still her world as of today, although the isolation order was lifted, so we don’t have to wear masks the entire time we’re with her now. She did have the flu, but the only thing left from its alien-like invasion is a racking cough. Cough syrup with codeine is a God-send.

Alma is still very weak, though, and will spend some time in Rehab here in the hospital. The Physical Therapy Case Manager says an average stay is two weeks, which does not make me happy. I’m certainly willing to do that, though, if it will get her back to where she was before this flu. Hoping it will be shorter than that. Her doctor said three or four days would probably be realistic for her. She has done some walking around in the room with help, but nothing on her own yet.

Another issue is her blood pressure. Both the nephrologist and the cardiologist are working on it. I didn’t realize that the kidneys have such control over blood pressure, but they do, even more so than the heart. Of course, Alma takes a lot of different medicines to keep her kidney working, and many of those medicines manage various hormones, which also affect blood pressure. For instance, the thyroid. So, her thyroid numbers were way out of kilter, and when they discovered that, they discontinued a drug that was driving those numbers even higher. This should also help her blood pressure stabilize some. It’s amazing how intricately the body works together, supporting all the other parts, etc. Is there a Bible verse about that? Yeah, I think so, too.

She is also still very listless, just doesn’t have much energy, so she hasn’t wanted to talk on the phone much, or even look at Facebook, etc. I’ve seen her with the phone a couple of times, but before long, she’s laying it down and going back to sleep. I transcribed a story for her the other day, but after awhile, she wasn’t able to do much so we had to stop. She’s missing writing, though, and wants to come up with stories to continue to post on the website. That is one thing she loves to do.

Please continue to pray for us. For Alma, certainly. But also for me. I’m trying to stay with her at nights. Things are always worse at night, and with this cough, sometimes she can’t speak for herself and needs to have an advocate there. It impacts my sleep somewhat, and I still have to work. Also pray for Bella, the dog. I think she’s having separation anxiety. When Alma sits in the office, where Bella’s kennel is, she is a mild-mannered, although somewhat whiny, pup. Now that Alma has been gone, she has become like The Hulk.