Nausea

Heather has had a difficult day. She woke up feeling some nausea that seemed to worsen as the day went on. This makes it really hard for her to stay up-beat. She did some physical therapy where they put her on a board that helps her stand up. As they were standing her up she vomited and has continued to feel nauseated since. There are many possible reasons for the nausea: she is eating fattier foods than she has eaten in a month; the narcotics (which slow down bowel functioning) she is taking and new foods she is eating continue to disrupt her bowels; she has skin from another person on her legs that her body may already be fighting against; etc.

Dr. Morris came in and said that she will be going into surgery tomorrow afternoon to get autografts (grafts using her own skin, taken from her back and sides). He told her that the donor sites (i.e., the spots from which they will take the skin for the grafts) will be quite painful for two days and moderately painful for 10 days. She was already anxious about this autograft surgery, but hearing that was quite distressing to her. She said that she doesn't feel like she is up to dealing with the pain of the autografts and the nausea at the same time (not to mention that she is just tired of being in the hospital and having this ordeal go on so long). She seems a little overwhelmed tonight. As always, your prayers on her behalf mean a lot to us.