Sedated

I looked at Satomi in the baby monitor screen intermittently all night.  It felt like a hundred times.  She didn’t move at all.  I awoke with a headache. 

I walked in to check on her.  She was on her left-side in the middle of a half-dozen pillows and three fluffy blankets.  Her face was partially embedded by a pillow so she was making a crazy huffing snoring noise.  I fixed the pillow and adjusted her position a bit.  I administered her morning suppository and through it all, she never stopped snoring.

Her morning oral medication didn’t go well.  I rolled her over and wiped her face.  It got her to open her eyes but she couldn’t speak.  I repeatedly asked if she was doing OK and if she could take her meds.  I eventually asked if she knew her name.  There was no response for many minutes.  I showed her the liquid anti-seizure meds and she nodded so we gave it a try.  She drank half of the cup and dribbled the rest on her shirt.  It was heartbreaking to watch.  I cleaned her up and didn’t even bother even asking about her morning pills.

I rolled her back over and covered her up.  She started snoring again in less than a minute.

I left the room and told her Mom to forgoe her normal breakfast.  When she awoke, a clear broth with some tofu is all that she can eat.

3:00pm UPDATE:  She is very groggy but is awake.  She awoke only a few minutes ago so hadn’t eaten anything today.  We gave her pieces of apple and pear.  She visited with us for 30-minutes before returning to sleep.  There are no signs of her agitation.  It’s obvious that she’s near her maximum pain medication dose so her bedtime medication will be tricky.  I’m going to leave her Ativan alone but cut her Oxy by half. 

7:45pm UPDATE:  I just spent a few minutes with Satomi and she was good.  Her back was still uncomfortable but she was in no pain.  She ate several apple slices and drank some juice.  She was fairly alert and could communicate.  I was very happy about it.  Even after a day of sleeping, she’s very tired and asked to go back to bed until I give her bedtime meds. 

10:15 UPDATE:  She’s been sleeping for almost an hour.  So far so good.