Tia Update 8

9:55PM Tia still hasn't slept much.  This evening her nurse (with the assistance of TeamTia) took off  the dressing on her her chest incision and changed the dressing on her chest tubes.  She was very brave.  Her poor sensitive skin really bothered her in trying to get the Tegaderm off.  We have learned that the keys to a painless process involving the removal of Tagaderm is to 1)  use the pink adhesive removal stick 2) go S-L-O-W and let the adhesive removal soak in and work.  Her blood pressure has come down slightly but it is still higher than we'd like it to be.  It seems like she is responding well to the BP medication she is now on.  She isn't mobile yet, however she is breathing room air and is able to take some pills.  She still has IV's in both hands.  The antibiotic burns as it goes through the IV. It's beneficial that she has two IV's so we can switch off half-way through the treatment each time she receives the antibiotic.  She just took more pain med and she is finally sleeping.  Hopefully she will rest peacefully tonight.