Our last 24 hours.....

Our last 24 hours have been better.  Last night, Reagan was given a medicine to make her poop all the extra potassium out of her system and she did just that.  Her potassium levels were much lower today.  She also was started on a Bumex drip today to try to increase her urine production.  She has had 3 peepee diapers today which is more than we were having before so we'll take it!  Because she did start peeing, she does not have to have a catheter put back in at this point- Yeaaaahhh!  In spite of all the measures to help her kidneys, her BUN and creatinine levels rose even higher today.  The renal dr. said even though her levels are high, there is still room for them to rise higher and her kidneys still come back from all this.  I, of course, don't want them going higher but was glad to know they're not as far gone as they could be. 

Today, she has been awake for longer periods of time before falling back asleep.  We were able to read some books together & just snuggle (both good for healing, in a mama's medical book)

As if Reagan didn't have enough going on, she has a burn on the skin to the left of her sternal incision.  Rod noticed this back when he was here after her chest was closed.  She has very sensitive skin and the slightest thing irritates her skin.  We think it was due to some betadine left on after surgery or the sterile drape that she had on when her chest was open for 6 days.  It has been being covered by gauze each time her sternal dressing was changed but yesterday after her incisions were removed, the dressing they put on was not as wide and the tape ended up being put right on top of this burn area.  The dressing has been changed a few times since and with the taking on and off of the tape it has irritated this burn and caused it to start bleeding.  The surgical fellow came in and took a look at it and suggested something they can start putting on it to try to heal it.  It has been driving her crazy and she itches it any chance she gets.  She, in fact, digs at it so much she pulls the dressing off herself.  It is a struggle keeping her hands off of it.  Please pray this heals quickly!

Reagan was weaned to 1L of oxygen yesterday and overnight and today tried weaning further but she did not tolerate it so we are still at 1L.  She, also, is usually a good cougher but today has not coughed at all.  She's very junky and needs to get this stuff out.  I think maybe either her chest or her throat is hurting and so she's not coughing as good.  After having to suction her just to get some of the junk out she fell fast asleep.  Someone who walked by said she looked like a princess on her throne.

Something makes me think she's not quite feeling like a princess at the moment!