No real changes for today’s update. There have been no additional fevers, and the doctor is confident that they are treating her bacterial pneumonia correctly. They plan to continue the antibiotics for another three to four days.
The ventilator settings have had to come back up a little bit. She was at 50% this morning. A bit of a side note here. All the time that she has been on the ventilator, they consistently report that she does better when they have her positioned on her stomach, and this when they are able to lower the ventilator settings, but when she gets moved onto her back, they need to increase the settings. They have frequently made comments to the effect that “she likes being on her stomach.” I have to laugh at this, since in 29 years of marriage, I have never once seen her sleep on her belly!
Because of the sedatives and other medicines, her blood pressure has been running low, so they have been providing medication to raise it back up.
The doctor reiterated that he has seen “pretty steady improvement” over the past three days.
I read several months ago that they’ve found that most patients with Co-vid patients on ventilators have done better on their stomachs. So strange! I am grateful that they know more about how to treat this virus now, and that they’re learning what works best for Dorothy.
Aunt Jolene called today concerned about Dorothy. I tried to relay to her what you’ve posted. Also Dad got a phone call telling him to come in tomorrow morning for his first shot.)
I’m so glad that you post every day. It makes me feel close to her. Love you both so much.