Unsettled post-surgery

Abigail had quite an unsettled night after her operation yesterday. She fitted quite a lot overnight and continued to have problems getting back up to a normal temperature. This morning she’d calmed down quite a bit and her body temperature was beginning to show signs of recovering. Abby was in a very deep sleep when we saw her today – this is almost certainly due to two doses of Lorazapam which were needed overnight to control her fitting. Doctors are not overly concerned about either her temperature or her fitting. They take the view that, with all her problems, Abigail had any number of reasons to have her seizures triggered after the trauma of surgery and they’re expecting the fits to subside again in time.

After having her overnight meds administered through it, Abby finally had her naso-gastric feeding tube removed this morning which feels like a big psychological step forward for us as much as for her. Of course she has the gastrostomy tube instead, but that’s more discreet and Abby can now look forward to a ‘clearer’ face without the tubes and surgical dressings of the last few months. It will also give her skin a chance to recover properly from the soreness brought on from the dressings.

Staff on the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit – where Abby is currently enjoying one-to-one nursing – say that Abby might move back down to the surgical ward to continue her recovery at some stage today, although there is the possibility that she may stay another night up on PICU. Much of that depends on how her body temperature recovers. One nurse told us that each hospital has a different ethos on paediatric care after surgery. She said that some hospitals would put a patient like Abigail straight back on to the ward to recover, but Lewisham felt that Abby needed closer attention given her history.