My wife is home this evening. We are happy beyond words. Its been a rough week, but she is on the mend even if it takes a while. Quick recap. She had double pnuemonia (both lungs infected) with the most common bacterial infection. Almost everyone has this bacteria in your nose already (scary, huh?). The infection became septic (throughout her blood), and she began to have her kidneys shut down. Since the bacteria was the most common, it responded very well to broad spectrum antibiotics. Within hours of admission to the ICU she had a ventilation tube run down her throat and was heavily sedated.
Cathy responded well and rapidly to all treatment. The breathing tube came out on Saturday, and she was moved to a regular room Sunday. She was released today and will be on oxygen for a couple weeks while her lungs continue to heal. Inconvenient, yes... She also found out she has a couple blood clots in one leg and she will be on blood thinners for 6 months. 2 shots a day. Yes, she s home, but she still has healing to do.
I really want to thank everyone for their thoughts, prayers, and kind and encouraging words. I was tired when I started this thread, and wasn't sure what the next hours would bring. Thank you everyone. And somehow, that just doesn't seem like enough...