Mrs. Mary Jo Feldhaus Page 

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Address at Vanderbilt:
    Mary Jo Feldhaus
    Room 9011
    Vanderbilt Hospital
    Nashville, TN 37232

• On Sunday, February 1, 2009 Mrs. Feldhaus was admitted to Vanderbilt Hospital.

• She had a colonoscopy and endoscopy procedure on Friday, 1/30/09. After two days of discomfort and pain, she decided to visit Bedford County hospital on Sunday afternoon.

• She was found to have bleeding and/or air in her chest and abdomen area. About midnight, she was transported to Vanderbilt.

   

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Monday 02/2/09

• 8:00 AM
  MiMi is in surgery at Vanderbilt.

• 10:15 AM
  Surgeons found hole in stomach. This is much better than hole in esophagus or bowel. They patched the hole and she is already in recovery room. The breathing tube is removed, which is very good. They will watch her for several days for infection and abscess in stomach. She is currently in the recovery room.

• 12:46 PM
  Mimi is still progressing well. They have her in the ICU now. They just called for the family to begin visiting her for a few minutes. We will post an update when we return in a few minutes.

• 1:40 PM
  Mimi has good color. Her white blood cell count is down to 23,000. It had been 38,000 to 41,000 yesterday. Her stomach is much smaller. She is resting this afternoon. We expect "No news, is good news" for now.

• 6:08 PM
  Mimi is talking very, very much. She is alert and understanding everything. We discussed all of the events of the last few days. Her memory appears perfect. She is not on much pain medicine. She expects to need more pain relief tomorrow as soreness appears. The biggest fear now is to keep blood clots from forming. Therefore, she must move her legs as much as possible. Our next visitation is 8:30 PM tonight.

• 9:00 PM
  Mimi is still doing well. She is receiving some blood thinner to guard against blood clots. She says, "I am ready to go home. I feel better than I have in months." We are praying for a quite night.

Tuesday 02/3/09

• 7:15 AM
  We are anticipating following the doctors at Rounds this morning. We should get a very good detailed report on her status early this morning. We will post an update immediately upon leaving the Rounds session at 8:00 AM.

• 8:35 AM
  We just left the Rounds session with all of the doctors. Mimi continues to progress well. They anticipate moving her to a regular room later today. She was asleep; therefore, we could not see her. Visitation is between 10:00 AM and 5:00PM. Her hermatocrit level is 25 and kidneys are functioning well. The doctors anticipate her hermatocrit level will increase today based on their current procedures. She has only pressed the pain medicine button twice since surgery.

• 10:51 AM
  Mimi looks good. Her color is very good. Her voice is "raspy", and the doctors are trying to preemptively guard against pneumonia. She is taking breathing exercises. She is moving to a regular room as soon as one becomes available. Her sugar level is high at 187; thus, they are giving her insulin to help lower it. This is a result of being without any real food since Thursday night. The oxygen is being "weaned" away today. Hopefully, she will be allowed to eat tomorrow. Otherwise, she is very alert and "with it" as the nurse stated.

• 2:05 PM
  Mimi is sitting in a chair now. She has been up for the past 2.5 hours. She had a bath and feels much better. She has been weaned down to the minimum amount of oxygen. She is hungry, which is a GREAT sign. She has requested mash potatoes for her first meal whenever they let her eat. She is still waiting for a regular room. The instant one becomes available, she will be moved. They are expected to remove her central IV line shortly (after they put her back in the bed).

• 10:00 PM
  MiMi sat-up in chair until 6:00 PM this evening. She had several visitors and is still very talkative. She is still waiting on an available room, but she is actually receiving the very best care in the ICU.

Wednesday 02/4/09

• 8:28 AM
  MiMi is now in room 9011 at Vanderbilt. She is still progressing well.

• 12:30 PM
  Mimi has no oxygen assistance now. She does breathing exercises several times per day. She is spending most of her time in the chair. Her visiting hours are basically all day until 9:00 PM.

• 2:35 PM
  She has been sitting in a chair for the last few hours. They have removed the last IV. They are planning to install a PICC line at 3:00 PM. This will help in getting blood samples and giving fluids for the next few days. Also, they will not be "sticking" her so many times with needles.

Thursday 02/5/09

• 9:20 AM
  MiMi is drinking a lot of water now, resting well. She is walking to the bathroom and sleeping comfortably. She is looking forward to eating soon. She's had nothing to eat since last Thursday.

• 9:40 AM
  They just brought her some chicken broth, Jell-O, and juice. She says "It tastes goooood!"

• 3:12 PM
  The doctors are very happy with MiMi's progress. Her color is excellent. She is eating a good amount of chicken broth and red Jell-O. The Jell-O makes her look like she has makeup on. She will be on a soft food diet tomorrow. Her white blood cell count continues to fall. It is now 15,000. Hermatocrit is up to 30. Her blood sugar is still decreasing and requires less insulin. Therefore, everything is moving in the right direction. She is walking to the bathroom and taking short naps. The doctors have removed most of the IV medicines. She can now swallow pills as needed. Her incision is healing well.

• 9:15 PM
  Everything is progressing well. Mimi appears to be tired and needs her sleep tonight. She is eating chicken broth and Jell-O regularly. Her blood sugar has been 132 most of the day. Therefore, very little insulin is needed. We look forward to a restful night.

Friday 02/6/09

• 2:00 PM
  MiMi had some trouble breathing early this morning. She is back on oxygen. The chest X-Ray, EKG along with Blood work looks good. Doctors feel like it is a minor event. She is on a soft food diet today and sitting in chair this afternoon.

• 6:10 PM
  MiMi had a good nap this afternoon. She spent much of the day in a chair. The Physical Therapist (PT) worked with her. She ate some mashed potatoes for supper. Green beans and chicken are also on the menu. Medical staff are pleased with her looks. She is taking breathing treatments, and they say her lungs sound better.

Saturday 02/7/09

• 9:45 AM
  Mimi slept well last night for several hours at a time. She is eating cheerios this morning. Her blood sugar has returned to normal; therefore, she does not require any more insulin. Her stomach is sore from the incision, which is normal. She is coughing more; thus, getting her lungs clear, but makes her stomach sore. She will be walking more today with a walker.

• 5:50 PM
  MiMi walked down the hall this afternoon. She has a low grade fever, which may keep her from coming home tomorrow. Otherwise everything looks good. She is just weak from not eating. She is off all IV's. She still has PICC line just in case additional meds are required later. Oral medicines only. She sat in the chair most of afternoon. This evening she is eating pork, baked apples, scalloped potatoes and cornbread. Jell-O and pudding for dessert. We are looking forward to a restful night.

Sunday 02/8/09

• 7:30 AM
  MiMi slept great last night. She is coughing a lot, but the doctors are not concerned. Her lungs sound clear. No fever. She is much better than Friday morning. She is hungry before breakfast arrived this morning. She wants oatmeal. Looking forward to walking halls today.

• 1:45 PM
  Mimi has been sitting in chair several times today. She is still coughing every few minutes. All medical staff and doctors say the lungs are staying clear. They just gave her some medicine to help with cough. They are talking about sending her home tomorrow (Monday) if everything stays good.

Monday 02/9/09

• 10:10 AM
  MiMi is expected to come home today. She slept great last night. She is still coughing often, but the doctors believe it is because of her allergies and dry air in the hospital (kind of like flying, which has always irritated her sinuses).  She sat in chair most of yesterday afternoon and ate a large supper. Hopefully, she will be home by late afternoon.

• 4:15 PM
  MiMi just arrived home! She slept most of the way home. We will try to let her rest over the next few days before allowing many visitors.

• As conditions change
  Next expected update

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Hello - I have created a web site for updates on the condition of Mrs. Mary Jo Feldhaus. I will keep working on it as I have time and new information comes in. Please keep checking it and forward it to people you think will be interested.

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