From The Past: July 22, 2007

If there is a procedure room available, mom will be getting a Denver Catheter tomorrow morning. She still has fluid on her lungs and this catheter will help drain it. If you recall, she had fluid drained from her lungs while she was in the CCU, however the fluid has built back up and will not go away on its own.

They think this build-up of fluids is the cause of the fever she gets every night. It is this fever which has caused her to remain in the hospital three days longer than anticipated. The hope is that removing this fluid will stop the fever and allow her to finally return home.

When she returns home, she will still have the Indwelling Catheter coming out near her collarbone, plus this Denver Catheter coming out from the side of her chest. The Indwelling Catheter will allow Home Health to get blood twice a week, while we will be flushing those lines twice each day and taking care of draining her Denver Catheter. I will let you know how everything goes.