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More updates on Kim from Elaine today.
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She said Kimmy was cast for her brace in the morning then the was moved out of ICU to the ortho unit in the afternoon. *she followed that sentence with a "Yeah!".
She wrote: "I talked to the cardiologist yesterday for a half hour about her medical history and about her heart rate slowdown/blood pressure drop during surgery. Since Kim's echocardiogram and EKG are both normal, the doctor concluded that the episodes are more related to a condition where her blood vessels did not adjust as they should have for appropriate blood flow and she had an episode during surgery. She gave me the name of the condition, I believe it was autostatic hypotension (?) and we'll follow-up with the cardiologist in a couple of months.
The brace casting was very tough on Kim and it was the first time I could tell she was in more severe pain. Note: Most people don't have to wear a post-op brace but because of her autism/mental retardation with impulsive behaviors she will be wearing one for additional protection as her spine is healing.
Last night she was clearly having discomfort as well; she is on a continuous morphine pump and we have to keep a close eye on her so when we see indications of increased pain the nurse can give her additional morphine (due to her developmental disabilities she is not a candidate for the patient controlled pain pump). Also, I learned yesterday that when we know something is coming up that could increase the pain, i.e. sitting up in bed, we should give her more pain meds about 10 minutes before the procedure.
The staff at the hospital is great; I really like how they treat her autism as just part as who she is, it doesn't define who she is. They are completely experienced in dealing with all sorts of behaviors, so it is very helpful with Kim's care.
The goal on Saturday is to get Kimmy to sit on the side of the bed, maybe even stand up.
) "
Later this afternoon she wrote Kim had rougher day today. It's tough for Elaine to determine if any agitation is due to her autism or pain
.
She wrote: "They gave her some Atavan (sp?) to chill her out and it did since she's been sleeping for the past hour. "
A pretty fantastic thing happened, however. Elaine told the admitting nurse that due to her autism she would probably need to have her hands restrained so she wouldn't pull out IVs.
The nurse said she'd ask that an order be placed for a "sitter". This "sitter" sits with Kim to make sure she doesn't pull at the IVs, and it allows Elaine to take much-needed breaks throughout the day (I was SO glad to hear this!)
She was heading back to Kimmy on her last note, but closed with, "They have some nursing background and have been really good with Kim. This place is great!"
Regards,
Pam
__________________________________________________ __
She said Kimmy was cast for her brace in the morning then the was moved out of ICU to the ortho unit in the afternoon. *she followed that sentence with a "Yeah!".
She wrote: "I talked to the cardiologist yesterday for a half hour about her medical history and about her heart rate slowdown/blood pressure drop during surgery. Since Kim's echocardiogram and EKG are both normal, the doctor concluded that the episodes are more related to a condition where her blood vessels did not adjust as they should have for appropriate blood flow and she had an episode during surgery. She gave me the name of the condition, I believe it was autostatic hypotension (?) and we'll follow-up with the cardiologist in a couple of months.
The brace casting was very tough on Kim and it was the first time I could tell she was in more severe pain. Note: Most people don't have to wear a post-op brace but because of her autism/mental retardation with impulsive behaviors she will be wearing one for additional protection as her spine is healing.
Last night she was clearly having discomfort as well; she is on a continuous morphine pump and we have to keep a close eye on her so when we see indications of increased pain the nurse can give her additional morphine (due to her developmental disabilities she is not a candidate for the patient controlled pain pump). Also, I learned yesterday that when we know something is coming up that could increase the pain, i.e. sitting up in bed, we should give her more pain meds about 10 minutes before the procedure.
The staff at the hospital is great; I really like how they treat her autism as just part as who she is, it doesn't define who she is. They are completely experienced in dealing with all sorts of behaviors, so it is very helpful with Kim's care.
The goal on Saturday is to get Kimmy to sit on the side of the bed, maybe even stand up.
) "Later this afternoon she wrote Kim had rougher day today. It's tough for Elaine to determine if any agitation is due to her autism or pain
.She wrote: "They gave her some Atavan (sp?) to chill her out and it did since she's been sleeping for the past hour. "
A pretty fantastic thing happened, however. Elaine told the admitting nurse that due to her autism she would probably need to have her hands restrained so she wouldn't pull out IVs.
The nurse said she'd ask that an order be placed for a "sitter". This "sitter" sits with Kim to make sure she doesn't pull at the IVs, and it allows Elaine to take much-needed breaks throughout the day (I was SO glad to hear this!)
She was heading back to Kimmy on her last note, but closed with, "They have some nursing background and have been really good with Kim. This place is great!"
Regards,
Pam
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