Lots happened today!
Food:
This morning, Teresa was able to get clear liquids for breakfast! Outside of the IV bags, it was the first nutrition she’d had since Thursday afternoon. The only thing she had Thursday was one container of banana baby food.
For lunch, she also had clear fluids.
For dinner, they let her use her judgment on if she could handle a full liquid diet.
Clear liquids mean things like broth, juice, jello, Italian ice, and various drinks. At breakfast, this included coffee. She said it’s so bad, that it makes McDonald’s taste good.
She ordered two clear liquids plus potato soup and cream of wheat for dinner. She said they sat well, but the cream of wheat doesn’t taste like what she remembered, and the soup was pretty salty.
Visitors:
She also got visitors today! Kristen Miller and Jacob Dingler (both of whom we know from KVAT/Food City), came by for quite awhile! It was very nice to see them both, and Teresa was in very good spirits!
Sara also came by for a few hours, which was great!
IVs:
Teresa is almost IV-free!
The only one left is just in place in case of an emergency, so they wouldn’t have to try to restick her in a hurry.
Mobility:
When I arrived this morning, I found Teresa sitting in a recliner. She told me she also was able to walk, with her walker, to the window at the end of her hallway. It’s an impressive distance!
Coughing:
It is still very painful for her to cough, and she’s been trying to avoid it as much as possible. I got her some cough drops at the hospital Walgreens tonight, but eventually she did end up coughing up a lot of pleghm tonight. Luckily, a PCT (Patient Care Tech) had just come in to help her walk to the bathroom. When she had a second coughing spell, and it was just the two of us, it was less scary.
As of now, she’s watching TV and playing on her tablet to keep her mind off of coughing.
I am staying in her room tonight. Dr. Greene comes by before I can ever get to the hospital, even though the hotel is super close by. I’m hoping to be awake enough to ask him some questions in the morning! 🙂