Tender little Emers.

Emmy has been moving her eyes beneath her closed lids. She also rotated her right hand and wrist twice. She stroked Nigil's (her British monkey) furry leg with her thumb. These are good signs but also a bit troubling. Managing Emerson's likely pain is a difficult process. Watching for withdrawal symptoms is difficult because of her sedated state. The difficulty is compounded by the fact that she likely built up a heck of a tolerance to many of these pain drug. As she is weened from one drug another is introduced to manage her pain and heart rate which has climbed. Managing her heart rate is a bit difficult because her secretions are so thick that they have to frequently suction her. The respiratory technicians also do some percussion therapy on her chest to try and help brake up the fluid in her lungs. Emerson is a tender little lady right now, she has three periferial IV lines, a central line, two chest tubes, a stomach sponge vac (a 3.5 inch by 1.5 inch hole), a ventilator, urinary catheter, an NG tube to empty her stomach intermittently and a ton of crusty EEG leads on her head. The "woods", that she is frequently referred to being in, are thick and not lovely.

She is scheduled to have the dressings of her sponge vac changed at 2:30 today.

For now, I'm back to reading her more pooh bear.