And on the 7th week, the doctors let Molly rest

Today was another exciting (aka stressful) day, but it ended on an up note. woo.

At around 9am, the alarms started going off on Molly's iv meds that there was "pressure increasing." Which means there is either a tube clamped off or a clot in her PICC line. Knowing Molly, guess which one it was? Yes. After a measly 4 days, her PICC line started clotting. After the nurse practitioner tried for about 2 hours to unclot the line with medication, it was pulled. So let's review: first PICC line created a clot in her vein, second PICC line "migrated" to an unknown location, third through ninth PICC lines could not get in because her veins were too curled up, first central line came dislodged and the 10th PICC line now clotted in the line. Keep in mind, PICC and central lines are supposed to last for MONTHS. Clearly Molly didn't get that memo.

So the dilemma: she has two more days of antibiotics (after being on them for 6 weeks) and about another week of weaning her off the Milrinone. Do they a) try for another PICC line, b) try for regular iv lines or c) discontinue the meds early. The answer is...

C!! Of course they tried for the iv lines 6 more times with three different nurses before making this decision, but it was made nonetheless. Our favorite NP Rebecca made a call to cardiology to see if they can cut off her iv meds and they actually agreed. Ending the iv meds early isn't desirable, but also not dangerous since she has started to go on the oral meds. Stacy Applegate (the cardiology fellow) looked at me and said, "Well, I guess Molly is telling us she's done." And we're glad they listened.

After it was all over, it was strange to be able to pick her up without a bunch of tubes attached to her. I started wondering today if she thinks the tubes that have been with her for so long are actually a part of her and will she be confused when they're gone. But so far, so good. When we told our favorite night nurse Pam (who has been on for the last 8 nights in a row!) that she got off all her meds, she started crying out of happiness. Nurses are amazing people. Especially Pam. And Gayle. And Esther. And Rebecca. And...