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We were fortunate enough to speak to Dr. Del Toro during our second ICU visit session around 1:30pm. He informed us that she is showing slight kidney improvement. Her blood pressure and infection are the main concerns. CT results and tests show that her heart is strong and may be a key factor in aiding her this far. Her skin is super sensitive to the touch and she has been removed from the pain patch. She will begin Ultram (a pain reliever)and that one takes time to be in your system. She also severely dehydrated.

Yesterday was horrifying. We learned from LTAC professionals that she underwent whirpool therapy. This required her to be moved from bed to wheelchair to whirlpool seat, through warm bubbling water, while her skin is raw, and back into a chair to stay sitting. According to them, she became unresponsive in her seat. They called paramedics and ushered her to her room where they attempted a central line. They said she was responsive by the time she left. We can't deny that we were livid upon hearing these things. Just the day before, mom requested that Jennifer, Elise, and I give her a bath. She screamed in pain when we squeezed water from the towel onto her skin. That is how sensitive she was. In fact, the bath was so painful for us to do that my sister couldn't finish it and had to leave the room. It ached us to see our mother so sensitive. For the reports made to us saying that she was 'fine' with whirlpool, that she even 'watched tv' in the bath without complaint, and even hearing the implication that she would be more expressive with her pain with us were infuriating, to say the least. Mom's whirlpool bath this past Saturday was so painful that she requested to me in front guests that she not receive whirlpool again. It burned her, she complained. I made a request to the nurses station that they hold off on it, because she was so raw and sensitive. Though I know at some point we would have to revisit the whirlpool option, my sister and I were concerned that she was too fragile for it just yet. After requesting this, I was informed that she would only receive whirlpool once a week. This relieved me because I figured it bought mom some time for her skin to improve.

Also, we had concerns about her frailty due to the fact that she was absent without a central line since Saturday, as well. She had no formal nutrients, IVs, or fluids. She was barely eating or drinking and complaining of thirst. When my sister and I were there, we encouraged her to drink and eat. But, we feared the other 21 hours of the day. At one point, since Saturday, we were encouraged by an LTAC nurse to bring our mom anything, so long as she drinks and eats it. She was severely dehydrated. All of these challenges have had us question why she was pushed to undergo a therapy that would potentially exhaust her and cause her excruciating pain. A source reassured us that the events in the past 24 hours are being looked into.

So, things right now are precarious. Mom will have a minimum of a few days in the ICU. Most likely, she will be transferred to a room at General for recovery before considering the next step in wound care.

Stay posted for details.