Day After Surgery

Kalista is doing okay the day after surgery. There were many events that happened in the past 24 hours that is keeping her on the ventilator and intubated.

1. She had a mild to moderate fever last night and they are keeping an eye on her as far as arrhythmias and continued fever, since it may be due to the surgery and her heart.

2. Her blood gases have been roller coastering and can't wean her off the ventilator yet. She is getting morphine, tylenol, adivan and a whole bunch of other medications to keep the pain controlled and make her comfortable.

3. She has gotten very puffy since yesterday since she needed a transfusion during surgery and all the IV fluids she is getting are starting to accumulate. She is taking a diuretic to get rid of the fluid, but still trying to maintain enough hydration.

4. She lost her arterial line sometime earlier this morning from her right foot and her foot blanched white. It still looks mottled, but blood flow has returned.

5. Once the team got that under control, a hose from her ventilator detached causing her to desaturate and turn blue. Of course, they got her back to her normal pink color immediately.

So...as you can see...we've been a bit overwhelmed. We just got home from a long day at the hospital, work, continuing education lecture, baby prep/transitioning home lecture. At the moment, Kalista has settled in to her usual all night sleep pattern and is comfortable. We hope tonight she will do some magical healing as she sleeps and rests. We'll give you an update tomorrow.