Today is hard to characterize. There are no major changes with Nancy. When I got there this morning she was (again) nearly in a sitting position. Her vocal volume seemed to be somewhat lower but she still wanted to talk. And she wanted to write when I did not grasp all that she was saying. With the worrying she is doing she is sleeping very little and so not healing as well as she might. The result is that her vital signs get a little ragged. They would like to get her out of the ICU and to a quieter place and one where they can do a bit of therapy but until she settles some that may be unsafe. They thought of moving her today but in addition to the above concern the ACU on the fourth floor did not have an open room located close to the main observation station. I got the impression either of these things would stop the move, so, tonight she remains in the second floor ICU.
Mostly she is worrying about things she needs to do at the University although I’ve told her all is taken care of. As this is Tuesday of Finals Week this is almost true. By Friday I can say the quarter is over and maybe that will quiet some of the thoughts.
She also wanted me to bring some of the pills to her for this or that ailment because, I think, they are giving her some of these medicines via infusions and/or smaller pills that she can swallow more easily. I guess she thinks they are not giving her something ( say “the big yellow pill”) that was prescribed weeks ago and she was in habit of taking at certain times and with or without meals.
Before I left there today I asked if she needed me to come back in the evening or if coming on Wednesday morning was okay with her. She told me I didn’t need to come back unless I brought her cell phone to her. They don’t want patients in the ICU to have cell phones and she couldn’t use it anyway, but still it bothers her. When I called there about 6 PM she wanted to talk to me. So we talked a little but I could not make out much because of the soft voice. The nurse and I chatted about how we might get her to think about her health and let go of the outside world, especially the interaction with students (in this age via e-mail and cell phone). We agreed this would not be easy for her.
All for now. John