Recovery

Dr. Goswami ordered a doplar test on Mom's legs last night to check blood flow and clotting. Everything looked good, though she said it was the most pain she's been in this far (the tech had to push on the veins where the catheters were). Her blood count was about 10 when she got here Thursday, yesterday it was 8.4, and today it was 7.2. Dr. Goswami ordered her to receive a pint of blood this morning before surgery. The transfusion went better than the last one she received when she gave birth to me almost 27 years ago (she had an allergic reaction).
She went into surgery around 9:40 this morning. The procedure only takes 30 minutes from start to finish, and about half of that is holding pressure on the hole caused by the port's catheter removal. The surgeon said the procedure went very well; no excess bleeding and there was no clot attached to the port :)
The inflammation and fluid continues to decrease. When she had the balloon catheter done, they put tape with a ruler on it on her back. It didn't get taken off until the next evening, and when the nurse finally removed it, it left twelve blisters about four inches apart all the way down her back. The bottom two spots are large sores, so we're watching those very closely.
Mimi and Sarah came up last night and stayed overnight, so Pat, Amy, Samantha and I went home for the night. It was nice to sleep in my own bed and not on the waiting room chairs or in the hotel. I know Samantha and Pat feel the same way. Mimi and Sarah will go home this afternoon, but Pat and I will stay in Springfield until Mom goes home. Samantha will probably come up later this week, and I'm already looking forward to company. Deb and Erin also drove over yesterday afternoon, and I know Mom loved seeing them.
We haven't heard anything about leaving since Dr. Goswami said it would probably be Friday. He will order a CT Scan before mom leaves to be sure there are no more dangerous clots. She's looking better each day as the swelling leaves her face and neck. We haven't heard that she will be staying longer than Friday (and personally I'm hoping she gets out on Thursday), so HOPEFULLY she will be home before the weekend.
-Jenn