A Good and bad day

Today was a good and a bad day...
Good news:
Mom moved out of ICU today into a regular room. One step closer to going home! Wow, IMC does it up nice! She moved to room 311 in the Heart & Lung Center...just downstairs from CICU. The room is large, private, has a DVD player attached to the TV with lots of donated videos to check out, a full-size sofa for any overnight guests, a nice chair & ottoman, etc. The nurses on this floor are rated the best in the building for customer service.
Bad news:
Mom did NOT sleep well last night. She finally had to tell her body to let her eyes sleep because they were really crying out to her. I'm suggesting ear plugs for her night tonight. Hopefully blocking out the hospital noises will help...
Good news:
Mom's creatinine was 2.4, down from 2.5. Her BUN was 63, down from 80 at St. Mark's. A good sign that the kidneys are still working well.
Good news:
They put a PICC line in Mom's heart. With her having had a mastectomy on her left side, her right side is the only side that can be poked and prodded, so her right arm looks like a mine field. Putting a PICC line in will allow them to draw blood and give medications without having to keep poking her or replacing IV's. That's got to help that mine field of an arm!!
Bad news:
Mom's A-fib heart rate was not getting low enough to please Dr. Elhaddi, so he ordered digoxin to help lower her heart rate. A new med...
Mom's urine output isn't as great as it should be, considering the amount of lasix she's receiving. Dr. Elhaddi ordered zaroxolyn to boost the effects of the lasix. Another med...
We talked about a possible procedure called AV Node ablation but Dr. Elhaddi says this is a last resort invasive procedure to consider ONLY if medication fails.
Good news:
Dr. Elhaddi is NOT going to let Mom go home unprepared this time. We will definitely consider rehab or something before going straight home. Mom's got to strengthen her body and heart (which is mechanically sound right now) and get the fluids out from around her heart and lungs before she can consider going home. We want her next night in her own bed to be a roaring success!!
Bad news:
Dr. Elhaddi made the mistake of asking me how I was doing and I had a complete meltdown in front of him (thankfully not in front of Mom!). I'm sure that was NOT what he was expecting. He took it all in stride and listened to me dissolve with a perfect "bedside manner".
Good news:
I was never more grateful to Steph for sending me home around 4 PM with her offer to stay the night with Mom. I should have spent some time to myself, spent time with my kids and grandkids, or anything totally frivolous and unproductive. Instead, I had a nice dinner at home eating some leftovers with Curt and finished Mom's Christmas cards. I also checked out options for an intermediate step in her coming home. They were all things I've wanted to do but never had time. Thanks SO MUCH, Steph!! Finally, Kyle gave me some well-needed advice and counsel (I love that man!!)
Well, the goods outweighed the bads today. That means that overall, it's been a GREAT day! Looking forward to an even better one tomorrow!