"We Love Andrea" was created to update Andrea's friends as she went through a difficult journey. After her second heart transplant when her pulse began to speed up she was given a pacemaker, then a Heart Mate II or LVAD. She was in the Stollery Children's Hospital, then the Mazankowski heart unit in Edmonton, Alberta for 7 months. However, she peacefully died on May 11, 2011 when the rest of her heart and other organs could handle the strain no longer. If you come to this blog, pray for her family and friends, remember to tell your friends you love them, then sign your organ donor card.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

More Waking Up


Hi Everyone

Just a quick note, Andrea is still trying to shake off the anesthetic effects and is still intubated.  This morning we got here at 8 and she was awake enough that she squeezed my hand on command.  She is relatively comfortable, she cannot speak with the breathing tube in her throat but we can guess what she wants.  We try to frame our questions so that she can answer with a nod or shake of her head.  This morning she was able to tell us her forehead was itchy.  They reduced the amount the ventilation machine was doing and later they did a breathing test to see if she could manage without the breathing tube. She did okay but was too weak to raise her head so they will try again tomorrow.  She communicated that she was thirsty, but of course she cannot drink.  The biggest issue now is that her kidneys and liver have not flushed out the anesthetic effect and so she needs some help to breathe.

Until later, Maynard

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