Monday Update

It seems that most of mom's problems right now are being caused by problems with her liver. Her legs and abdomen have both been experiencing some pretty significant swelling in the past few days. This is what we could find on the condition:

Fluid retention in the legs and abdomen -- The liver produces a protein, called albumin, that holds fluid in blood vessels. When the blood level of albumen falls, fluid seeps out of the tissues into the legs and abdomen, causing edema (fluid accumulation) and swelling.

To try and counteract the swelling the doctors have greatly reduced the amount of fluids she is taking in through her IV. If that doesn't seem to help, they will most likely have to drain the fluids manually, as it is becoming rather uncomfortable for mom.

Also, the ammonia levels in mom's blood are rather high, which is also an indication that her liver isn't functioning properly. The liver normally converts ammonia into urea, which is then eliminated in urine. Ammonia levels in the blood rise when the liver is not able to convert ammonia to urea. The outward effect of this elevated ammonia level is a very sleepy, disoriented, and sometimes confused mom. If you do go and visit mom, she will occasionally slip in and out of the conversation and won't always make perfect sense. If you just go with the flow and let her keep her talking, eventually you will start to figure out where she is coming from. Fortunately, there is a medication that mom is taking that will hopefully lower the ammonia levels and help mom regain some mental acuity.

Mom's appetite seems to come and go. It seems that her appetite is the greatest in the morning and then kind of fades as the day goes on. With the amount of nutrients that she is taking in through the IV being greatly reduced, her eating has taken on more importance. Becky visited her this morning and says that she seemed to be more aware and sharp than she has been lately. Also, she wolfed down a good portion of her breakfast, which is great.

Her platelet levels are back to normal and her lungs still look good, which are positives. However, perhaps the most amazing thing I saw yesterday was when one of mom's friends came to visit her while just Kelly and I were there. This was a woman who my mom knew from childhood, and they kept in contact because they both worked at the hospital. She heard my mom was in the hospital so she came to pay her a visit. She had no idea that my mom wasn't totally with it, so she was just talking to her normally. Then my mom started asking questions to her. Things that to me, didn't make much sense, and I assumed they didn't make much sense to the woman either. But the woman knew what my mom was talking about. Apparently, the woman recently lost her husband to cancer and my mom was asking her how he was treated during his stay at the hospital, and how she was doing now. Soon the woman was crying and telling mom how much she loved her husband and how she missed him. My mom just held her hand and let her talk, and suddenly things were normal again. There mom was, comforting someone, just like she always has. I don't know why I was even surprised. Mom is always at her best when she is serving others. She truly is amazing.