one step forward and two steps back

It has been a kind of rough couple of days. Yesterday was good for most of the day. Mom was breathing pretty well, and was talking quite a bit. She didn't have to be on the CPAP machine most of the day,so we could actually hear her. She still wasn't keeping her oxygen levels as high as they wanted them though. In the afternoon, they did a CT scan on her lungs to try and figure out what was wrong. They found that her left lung is full of fluid. They inserted a drain tube into her lung so that the liquid can drain out. Then they decided to reinsert the breathing tube. We had really hoped that the breathing tube wouldn't have to go back in, but she was right on the border line of needing it. They said that they would much rather put it in, in a controlled environment then in an emergency situation when much more could go wrong. So, they did it. It went in well and they didn't have any trouble. It ended up being a good thing that they put the tube in. They ended up doing sending a bronchoscope down the breathing tube. It allows them to see into the lungs and vacuum anything out that needs to come out. They found out that her windpipe was full of stuff too which they were able to remove. They were going to do the bronchoscope again tonight and will keep doing it until things get cleared out. They won't take the breathing tube out until they get rid of all the junk. The tube makes it safe and more comfortable to do the bronchoscope which is good. Hopefully, once her lungs get cleared out, they will take the breathing tube out and she will be able to breathe better on her own. Last time, when they had the breathing tube in, they kept her pretty sedated. Today, she was mostly awake though. They want to sedate her as little as possible. She was able to communicate pretty well with us today with nods, gestures, and mouthing words, and she seems to be handling the breathing tube pretty well. They said the the breathing tube will probably be in for a few days, so we are just hoping it can come out soon. Besides the breathing, things are going well. The wound is looking good, with no new signs of infection, which is great. She is moving her right arm a little bit more. She has had quite a bit of phantom pains (pain in the leg that they amputated.) That seems to me to be the most unfair part. It doesn't seem right that she should have to feel pain in the leg that is no longer there. But, they are working on finding the right medicines to decrease that pain, and it seems to be working pretty well. Even though the breathing tube was a bit of a setback, I think we are still moving in a positive direction. We have a long way to go, and there are going to be some bad days, but hopefully she will come out of this a little bit stronger and more ready to take on the next challenge.