A Fine Balance.

We received one of those 1:30 AM phone calls last night. The nurses discovered that there was some bleeding in Rebel's chest. The cardiac surgeon had to find it and stop it. We were told that this could happen. More than once even. It's not uncommon given the fact that Rebel has to be on blood thinners for the machines she is on. This is something that is almost always anticipated and one of the key things that is being monitored.

So a surgical team came together in the wee hours and did what they had to do. We got the all clear phone call at 4:30 AM. There had been some clotting at the tubes that attach her heart to the ventricular device that needed to be cleaned. The surgeon, another one of these brilliant top flight recognized doctors at the Heart Institute, called us and told us what was done, how he fixed it, and how Rebel was doing.

SU and I saw her today, and were told that it's always a fine balance between using blood thinners and ensuring that bleeding is kept under control.
She was responding when we talked to her. She is still sedated but could hear us and would nod her head if we asked her if she could hear.

I told her that many people were thinking of her and wanting her to keep improving and getting better. I let her know that if she was worrying about any of us, she didn't have to. (because she does) She needed to focus on herself and keep fighting and to think only of how she could help herself. Perhaps in her "stoned state" as one of her nurses put it, she won't remember what I said, but on the other hand, the subconscious mind is still a mystery. I believe that the positive messages we send her is what she needs to hear. She has to believe in herself and as she is "tripping high" in those clouds she will focus on helping herself heal too.