Bumps are normal...

the look of pure exhaustion

If there's one thing we all know about Margaret, it's that she likes to be the boss.  Recovering after major open heart surgery is no simple task and there are bound to be bumps along the way.  

This weekend we encountered one such "bump" and Margaret let us all know that we were being a bit too ambitious with weaning her meds.  Sunday, in particular, was a bit rough.  Margaret struggled with the decreased amount of meds and ended up needing bumps to help relieve discomfort and frustration.  It was hard to see her so uncomfortable and needing more support - seriously, SO hard.  Getting and keeping her comfortable is a priority and yesterday afternoon/early evening we were able to achieve that, thankfully.  Not being able to scoop her up and snuggle her nice and close is one of the most difficult things either of us has ever experienced.  Especially when she flashes that professional-level pouty face that she's quickly becoming known for!

Today, she's been pretty calm.  She actually has been asleep for most of the day - her body is telling us it needs some serious rest!  The plan is to go super slow with weaning her meds and pay attention to what she is telling us each day.  That's ok.  We can deal with slow.  Slow and steady wins the race...🐢

This morning Margaret had an echo and, surprisingly, she slept right through it.  I watched in awe as the ultrasound tech was able to move the wand all over her chest and get the images that they needed all while Margaret kept snoozin'.  This is definitely not typical behavior of her so I kept waiting for her to suddenly open her eyes and start screaming, but it didn't happen!  I was even able to run downstairs and grab a quick bowl of cereal while the tech finished up.  The results of the echo haven't really been explained to us quiet yet.  The echo basically looked just like the one they did right after her surgery.  This isn't necessarily great, but it's better than things looking worse!  One of the cardiologists looked over the images and gave me a little bit of an idea but we will wait until the surgeon is able to examine them and decide what's next.  It's going to take time for Margaret's heart to adjust to the changes that were made to it -- really it could take even months for her body to fully adjust.  That's ok, too...we've got time...😊

we love getting rid of machines!

Margaret has to wear mittens because she keeps trying to pull her nasal cannula out when she rubs her eyes.  She doesn't like wearing them but at least she tolerates them ok.  That pouty face of hers really can tug at your heartstrings and make you feel exponentially guilty, though, that's for sure!