now what

Maire spent some time in a recovery room and then moved to intensive care. We I arrived in the morning, she was already awake. She had a large white turban like bandage wrapped around her head. She was still drowsy, but responsive and she knew where she was. It appeared that things were going the way the doctor said. She was doing well. As others came by during the day, she continued to get stronger and more alert, talking and  laughing with her visitors. They didn't want her to eat yet, and she didn't seem hungry anyway. Over the next couple of days, doctors would check on her, and seem pleased with her progress.

Besides the wrap on her head, there was also a tube, draining spinal fluid from her brain. The fluid flowed into a bag, attached to an IV pole, next to her bed. The surgeon was very particular about that tube. He wanted the drainage bag to be level with her head. He wanted to created an equilibrium. If the bag was lower, it might drain too fast. If it was higher, it might not drain at all. He wanted the fluid to drain in order to keep swelling down. But if it drained to fast, the brain might collapse. After that first couple of days he decided to change the height of the bag so that it was no longer level with Marie's head.

During this recovery time, Marie's sister and brothers, decided to go home. They have their own families. That left my mother and father in laws here with us. I had stayed in the hospital the last couple of nights, sleeping in the intensive care waiting room. Since some people went home, and since Marie seemed to be doing so good, I decided to sleep at home that night. They were going to move Marie to a regular room the next day and I thought I could stay in her room, sleeping in a reclining chair. That meant this would be a good night to get some sleep at home. I was wrong again.

About 2:00am the phone rang. It was a nurse from the intensive care unit. They couldn't wake Marie. They take vital signs and give medication every few hours. Part of the vitals was a responsiveness to communication. They weren't getting anything. The nurse told me, the surgeon has been notified, and that he ordered an MRI. They wanted me to come right down. My mother-in-law went with me and we got there quickly.

When we arrived, Marie had already been taken for the MRI. We had to wait for her to return.