Valentine's Evening Update

And so it goes:

After Andy’s eye appointment yesterday, we went to visit Julie for an hour or so. She was in good form at the time. Just as we were living, the resident on the trauma team came by to meet with her.

I got this e-mail later in the day

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From: Julie

Sent: Tuesday, February 12, 2013 2:40 PM

To: Cindy

Subject:

Wanna come brush and braid my clean hair tonight? Ryan is atrocious at it....got my shower and they washed my hair so I'm feeling pretty good.

Saw the trauma team and am getting some more scans done. One of my abdominal area for my liver and then also my pelvis as my left side is pretty tender when they were checking me out. Also Got an answer on how many ribs I broke...5 on the right, 8 on the left. Ribs 2-7 and 2-10 respectively.

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End result of her scans – she also has a non-life/non-mobility threatening fracture in her spine and she has a bruised liver. Apparently her liver was lacerated as well but the lacerations were not deep and they are healing, just slowly.

She is still getting 2 shots a day of heparin, an anti-blood-clotting drug. She says it hurts horribly for about 5 minutes after each shot.

I did get in and brushed and braided her hair so she felt a bit better. I also got her some fancy pink fuzzy socks with the non-slip spots so she can wear them around the hospital and not take a chance on slipping.

I talked to her again late this afternoon – we knew that Aaron and Maria were going to visit so we didn’t want her to be too tired or overwhelmed. And, I have been home all day just feeling under the weather – I think my last month is catching up with me – gee, I wonder why!

She is not eating well or drinking enough water. She still finds it difficult to get up and around. She says she isn’t really hungry and nothing has really appealed to her. I strongly suspect there is an element of depression there right now.

Her roommate is a man probably in his mid-sixties who is dying of stomach cancer which she finds hard to listen to. She says she is more aware of being injured here than she was in India. There she was in a private room and there just wasn’t the same hustling and bustling there that there is at Foothills.

She met with various and assorted doctors again today and, I believe, the occupational and physiotherapists. They are now suggesting the possibility that she might have to go to a rehab unit until she is more mobile. Their house is a 1½ story with the only bathroom on the main floor. Ryan won’t be at home during the day and she is not able to take good care of herself just yet. Needless to say, she is more than slightly discouraged. 

 Maybe she will get better news for Valentine’s Day.