Therapy and exhaustion

This week has been marked by periods of exhaustion brought on by Susan's daily routine of therapy and exercise. The maneuvers she does to rehab her broken upper arm bone have been improving her range of motion but also result in a good deal of pain afterwards. After hitting it hard for a day or two, she'll have a day when she's unable to do much. These low points can become a bit discouraging for her; but she's usually upbeat and ready to go again after a day of rest.

I brought Susan to the doctor this week to investigate shortness of breath she's been experiencing recently. We're concerned about a blood clot moving past her implanted IVC filter and into her lungs. A pulmonary embolism would not be a good thing. She had a v/q scan of her lungs (v/q means ventilation/perfusion - go figure) on Tuesday at Long Beach Memorial to measure breathing and blood flow. We had tried a CTA scan of her lungs at first; but the techs were unable to find a workable vein for a large-volume IV to inject contrast solution. We're waiting for the results and hoping to rule out a sneaky clot.

The fact that she's been more non-functional when she's tired over the past week has me wary about the return of infection, brain swelling, hydrocephalus, or whatever. We never know, unless the symptoms persist and worsen. On the other hand, we could be seeing the effects of her stepping down from 4mg to 3mg of the steroid Decadron on Tuesday. Even her breathing trouble may be due to fatigue. Whatever the case, Susan's condition involves an ever-changing set of circumstances. Overall, she continues to make gradual progress - for this we are grateful.