Road trips.

When I think about the word "road trips", I in-vision many experiences. I remember my childhood consisting of many road trips. Road trips with my family of 7 to see distant relatives or to go on vacation. I remember road trips with my sisters. We would car sing and dance like fools and not have a care. I then think about the road trips with friends, feeling so "cool" and having a blast. I even go on and picture the future road trips with Ruth. Planning camping trips, going to visit different landmarks and people. I use to think only of car trips as road trips. Use to.

Now, when I hear the word road trips it holds a very different meaning. It means being moved from another hospital room to another. Another room, another cold reminder that we are in the hospital.

Yesterday, Ruthie went on a "road trip" to the ICU.

She had moved into 7 West on Sunday after being vent free for week and comfy in the ICU. It felt like a pretty big deal that she was moving. We were excited. It had given us the bump in our spirits that we needed.

However, yesterday her cough seemed worse and she wasn't able to clear herself very well. We tried suctioning her through her nose and through her mouth and neither really bumped up her sats. Around 1:15, she began to desat into the 50s. They changed the pulse ox, did assessments, turned up her o2s to 4L, order chest x ray and echo and nothing brought her up. She was not angry. She was pretty content the whole time, but she wasn't Ruthie. She would fuss, but not cry. She would almost smile and then fall asleep. There was something going on.

So ROAD TRIP down the hall and into the ICU.


It looks like, Ruthie just needed some more diuretics on board. She had been retaining some extra fluid which was making it harder for her to breath. Her chest x ray looked hazy and so they are faulting the fluids. She is much happier today. She is smiling and resting well. She is down to 4L from 5L on high flow nasal o2 at 100%. We restarted her feeds at 5 mils an hour. They have even mentioned something along the lines of moving us back to the floor (7 West) again. So it looks like we have another Road Trip in our future.

As I said earlier, I "use to" in- vision so many fond road trips in the past and future. These road trips did stick with the usual terms of road trip = vacation, a car, fun, family, friends, etc. Although the definition of road trip has changed for me, I have decided to continue to dream. The next road trip I want to go on is to the OR for her new heart. I can't wait for that road trip. The excitement, the fear, the gratefulness, the praise to God.

I am praying really hard for a road trip!

I love you Ruthie Rue!