If ever there was any doubt about the will to live coming from inside my Mother it was shattered to pieces yesterday as I watched her fight with all her might while in the coma state she was put in. The nurses were trying to get her to help them cough up the "phlegm" that was in her lungs. She may have been under sedation but her face told the story. Her anguish was visible with every effort to discharge the unwanted mucus. Even the nurses were apologizing to her knowing full well that the effort she was putting forth in her state was extremely painful. But like my Mother has always done in her life she did what she had to do in order to keep going.
Getting the liquid mess from her lungs is the greatest priority. But to see her face wrenching in her coma state told me that she could feel the necessary act and it made me cringe inside. Afterwards when they moved her in the bed to keep her more comfortable my aunt, uncle, brother, sister, and I talked to the nurse about her history a bit and it was decided to increase her pain medication amount because the nurse wasn't aware that my Mother lived with chronic pain and that the level they were injecting into her wasn't enough. It then made me realize that she must have been in excruciating pain while retching up the liquid from her lungs.
However immediately after increasing her pain injection amount you could see the relaxing of her facial muscles and her monitor numbers began improving. This is to show that medicine is still all about not only the advances in technology but also the history of the patient. The color began returning to her cheeks and she was resting much more peacefully in that necessary coma state. This morning if all went as expected last night she should be weaned off the respirator and brought back to cognizance in about 2 hours. I have decided not to be there since so many others will be in that ICU room and I don't want to be part of a spectacle. I will hear soon enough the news of her improving recovery as I expect it to be. :)
Getting the liquid mess from her lungs is the greatest priority. But to see her face wrenching in her coma state told me that she could feel the necessary act and it made me cringe inside. Afterwards when they moved her in the bed to keep her more comfortable my aunt, uncle, brother, sister, and I talked to the nurse about her history a bit and it was decided to increase her pain medication amount because the nurse wasn't aware that my Mother lived with chronic pain and that the level they were injecting into her wasn't enough. It then made me realize that she must have been in excruciating pain while retching up the liquid from her lungs.
However immediately after increasing her pain injection amount you could see the relaxing of her facial muscles and her monitor numbers began improving. This is to show that medicine is still all about not only the advances in technology but also the history of the patient. The color began returning to her cheeks and she was resting much more peacefully in that necessary coma state. This morning if all went as expected last night she should be weaned off the respirator and brought back to cognizance in about 2 hours. I have decided not to be there since so many others will be in that ICU room and I don't want to be part of a spectacle. I will hear soon enough the news of her improving recovery as I expect it to be. :)
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