Rachel seems to have taken a step back from just a few days ago when she seemed to be getting better. She is not eating anything on her own (she is getting fed through the feeding tube) and we are having to force her to drink so she doesn't become dehydrated. She is setting up in the chair several hours at a time and has been walking some but for the most part, she wants to lay in the bed, as she appears to be really tired.
The surgeon has said that he believes that getting her caught up on her nutrition will help give her some energy and will help her to get better, but, he is also concerned about her poor heart-function as a contributing factor, which they have to figure out how to make it better, whether that is with or without medication.
Also, he is aware that she has always had a leaking aortic valve and it appears that it is leaking more and he is wondering how much that is playing a part in the poor heart-function too. He has said that he does not want to do another surgery, especially this soon from her last surgery, so he and the team of doctors treating her, have to figure out a way to get around the leaking from the aortic valve, if that is what is playing a part in all of this.
Also, he wants to have the pacemaker checked again to see whether the pacemaker settings could help somewhat, although he is rather sure that it is not a pacemaker issue. He was quick to remind us that they are still treating her for infection/fungus in the trachea, having to monitor her thyroid since the anti-arrithymia meds can have an effect on the thyroid, getting her nutrition built back up and the fact that its only been three weeks since major open-heart surgery. So there are a number of issues they are having to look at.
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