The Plan

Saturday, 5-8-2010
The plan was to leave the hospital today and go home.  The plan started yesterday.  The plan was to give Liam pain medication, if needed, through the J-tube overnight - not through the IV.  The plan worked well.  We gave her Tylenol and Ativan.  She was up with pain twice last night, but both times we gave her Tylenol she went back to sleep.  So the plan was to pack up and leave.  But any plan always have a plan-B.  Plan-B, you guessed it, was not a plan at all.  If the condition wouldn't allow it (according to the non-plan-B), we stay in the hospital.

This morning, after a relatively peaceful night, Liam started having more and more pain.  Rachel arrived all cheered up about leaving.  She started packing - while Liam is in increasing pain.  HELLO!!!  Well, the hope was that one more Tylenol and we're on our way home, eh?  Not so fast, cowboy.  The pain just grew and grew during the day.

For tonight The Plan is not much different than last night:
Tylenol as needed.
Ativan via J-tube and Stadol (sniff) x2
If above don't work, give Versed.
If all fails, give Ativan through the IV.

Giving her stuff through the IV would be a step back.

When Liam's asleep, her heart rate (HR) is at 70-80s.  From my bed I can see it climbing to the 130s-140s.  The OOOOOWWWWWies are just around the corner.  I can tell that by seeing the HR climbing.  But she's quite so far, so SHUT UP, Asher.

There are a few things with Liam which can easily confuse you:
1.  She is not a pretender.  Never.  When she complains, it hurts.  No doubt about it.  At the same time.....
2.  She rarely says WHAT hurts and NEVER says how much it hurts.  Thus....
3.  It's very possible that a small OOOOOOWWWWW sounds exactly the same as a big OOOOOWWWWWW.  You simply can't tell.  And maybe.....
4.  It's not even pain, but pressure from the urine bladder or nausea or simply irritation?  It still comes out in a dramatic and continuous OOOOWWWW.
5.  Many times the pain arrives out of nowhere.  One minute she's calm, and the next her face goes very red, her HR is climbing through the roof, and she OOOOWWWs.

Tomorrow we will make another attempt to leave the hospital.  But first thing first, I just want to get through the night.