Decisions

 

Decisions

 

Kevin returned to his girls and sat with them in the family room along with Greg as they waited for the word from Helen's doctor. The OB/GYN senior resident was the physician of record on Helen's case, and he had several high level consults before he made this one final decision. Once Helen was on the ventilator, and that was the final heroic act they would perform for her. If the infection did not respond to the battery of antibiotics they were administering to her, there was no further hope. They would concentrate on keeping her comfortable until she passed away. That was all they could do, and it was all by her wishes.           

As the attending entered the family room, he felt as if he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. He recognized Stacy and her sister immediately from the recent Junior Nationals. His daughters were big gymnastics fans and forced him to take the day off to watch the finals. The girls he saw sitting in the waiting room looked very strong as did their father. This made the news even harder to pass on to them, but it was time to go ahead with the news.

            “I'm afraid we have done everything we can do for your mother girls. The infection she contracted went too long without treatment and it has invaded every system in her body. It's beginning to go after her brain at this point as well. There is a very good possibility that she will not make it through the night and the end could be very traumatic. She is on a ventilator and that's the last heroic act we want to take.”

            “She's really going to die?”

            “I'm afraid this is a definite possibility. She is a very strong person, but this is a very serious situation. There have been patients who have pulled through situations like hers and lived. Some have had strokes or heart attacks and died later, some have become disabled but there are a few who have made it through with very few complications.”

            “If she makes it through the night, what are her chances?”

            “The longer she fights this, the better her chances. I would say that if, and I do mean if in big letters here, she makes it through the night; she has a small chance of living through another night. If she makes it through tomorrow night, then she may pull through completely.”

            “Dad, you were right to bring us here. At least we did get to tell her goodbye and she told us goodbye. If she's going to make it or not, I want to be there to see it.”

            “I'm with Kimberly Dad. I want to see if she can make it.”

            “Are you girls sure? The doctor said this could be very traumatic. I prepared you to deal with many different situations in first aid, but this is very different. This is a death watch and the end can be hard to accept.”

            “Dad, if it gets too bad or if you think we should leave the room, we can always leave. If we don’t try to stay with her, we will never really know we did the best we could for her. It's the only way I will have peace with this.”

            “I'm with Stacy Dad. Greg can stand by with us and we will all be okay. It's all in the best interest of your daughters.”

            “They are good aren't they? Kevin, I'd be glad to stay with you guys. I know everything you and Helen went through and after you giving me a second chance this is the least I can do for you.”

            “Only if you are 100% sure girls. I've been through this a time or two. It isn't pretty and it can be very hard to witness.”

            “I'm certain.”

            “So am I Dad.”

            The doctor granted the girls permission to stay with their mother and tried to prepare them for what could follow. Helen was in multi-system failure and her lungs in very bad shape. Her heart was in the first stages of failure and she was having more and more trouble breathing even with the ventilator. 

            Now a mere three hours after placing her on the ventilator, Helen's brain began to swell due to lack of oxygen. Even with the ventilator, the fluids backing up into her lungs and the transfused blood's lack of oxygen carrying ability were working against Helen. Frozen plasma and platelets had begun to slow the progression of multi system failure, but the woman in the hospital bed did not look like their mother to Stacy and Kimberly. Her dark skin was very pale and mottled with bruises and small bleeds from different areas of her body. It was not easy for them to watch and hold this vigil, but both were determined to do so.

            At some point during this all night vigil, Helen's vitals began to stabilize somewhat.  More tests revealed her white count had begun to drop some and her clotting factors were vastly improving. Her lungs were still not very clear, but she was keeping higher oxygen sats now than she had at any time since her admission to the ICU.               

Reviews

[Demi Rose]

i love how u pulled this together. it isn't like anything i ever read before and that is a rare find. it is a new style