Slow and steady progress

This is Brian with another update on Wendi. She is doing better overall; she occasionally has trouble communicating, but that is more the exception than the rule. She is awake more often, and she has asked for a television set in her room. She has also asked for her cell phone, but the ICU will not allow that. I mentioned the other day that she had a procedure called percutaneous nephrostomy on one of her kidneys. Today she had the same procedure done to the other kidney, since her doctor did not notice any improvement after the first procedure. Determining which kidney was damaged, and where, is apparently a tricky business.

Barring any more unexpected complications, it looks like Wendi will be moved out of the ICU within a day or two. Most of her vital signs are in normal territory, but she is still anemic because of all the blood she lost. (She received a transfusion of two units of blood during the surgery, which is just under two pints.) To be transferred out of the ICU, she will need the consent of the attending physician in the ICU, who I'm sure will check with Dr. Bahador to get his input. After that, she will remain in the hospital, probably in the surgical recovery section, for at least a few more days.