Posted on June 11, 2013 by Tim Barrie

Sonja is certainly getting a lot of attention, I think the nurses and doctors have been to see Sonja 20 times today.  Her sense of humor is back and I’m listening to her now laughing and joking with a couple of nurses and the house doctor.

Today Sonja had an EKG, also they took her down stairs and did a scan of some kind, the usual blood test and blood pressure tests and they’ve given her, to quote, “more bottles (drips) of things than I know what to do with”.

Dr. Clavel came to see her this morning and said it would be okay for her to take a shower (a relief to all of us – just kidding).

Sonja had a really bad night last night. She was awake from 2am to 5:30am pacing because she felt so rough.  There wasn’t anything specific, just extreme achiness and nerves on edge.  So much so that she could not settle and ended up pacing most of the night.  Which was kinda good and bad, good in that she got a lot of exercise, bad in that she had a bad time and was exhausted by morning.

I had a suspicion, (given the symptoms) that it might be withdraw from the pain killers.  So, even though she does not feel the need to take anything anymore, I encouraged her to take a small amount of her (Lortab) painkiller. 

These seemed to work and after about half an hour she was able to setting down and sleep for a bit.  This has now become consistent in that she will start to get really uncomfortable, then take a half of one of the 750/500ml pills and start to feel better. 

It seems clear that coming straight off painkillers is not easy to do.  The plan now is to gradually wean herself off them. 

The best news here is of course that she does not need any painkillers for pain Yay!

Sonja is a lot stronger, though pretty tired today, she walked further and is steadier on her feet.  She actually sat up and played cards for a little while last night.

Although she tires easily, I’d have to say that she is more cheerful than she has been in the last several months. 

I’ve started teasing her about being a bit of a princess, when she asks for this and that, for her sheets and pillow to be adjusted and the like.

Between you and me though “princess” could not be further from the truth, she is actually fiercely independent and working hard to do things for herself at every opportunity. Still, it makes her laugh .