The Drain - 5/24/26

Long hugs & kisses were had with Tinna, on our arrival Saturday!

Being in her own room & not hooked up to 5 machines has been great!

BUT, it now requires the nurses & doctors to come in hourly to check vitals, look at her eyes with a flash light & draw blood. Sadly the staff here does not take any breaks and appears to never sleep…which is making it impossible for Tinna to sleep through the night.

She’s no longer dealing with the blood pressure arm cuff or the leg sleeves but now the bed repositions every 30 minutes to prevent any bed sores or blood clots.

Due to this surgery requiring the skull base to be opened Tinna has had a full ENT (ears, nose, throat) Doctors & Residents as well has a full Neurosurgeon team of Doctors & Residents involved here at UCSF.

Head pressure & feeling light headed with some remaining left eye pain are the remaining side effects from Monday’s surgery.

Saturday was a win for feeling nauseous.

Some tastes of different foods have been present. Come to find out a small percentage of taste will remain through her taste buds on her tongue. But, she won’t be able to smell the spoiled milk…she’ll have to drink it, to tell.

One of her ENT residents came in the afternoon to remove her right nostril plug. Giving her relief and the ability to breath through that side. The other side was clear for a litter after that plug was removed but has since gotten stuffed due to the healing process. They’ve also stopped her antibiotics.

The spinal drain is now on a 24 hr clock. Meaning, if they are able to keep the valve closed for a 24 hour period and not have any brain fluid symptoms, Tinna will get to come home. Symptoms include sharp headaches, nauseousness, head pressure, salty or metallic taste in the back of the throat, etc.

I better start cleaning the house and move my motorcycle out of the living room hehe

‍ 🌞🌞🌞

Some good sleep was achieved Saturday night. But, a headache was there to great Tinna when she opened her eyes.

All stable conditions for Sunday morning, outside the off & on discomforts.

Both doctor teams have been in & out, with lots of talk about the possibility of removing the drain in the afternoon. Fingers are crossed!!

*Note: The daily blog updates will happen everyday around noon. The bottom of this page will take you to the next or previous one.