Nutrition

My apologies for going several (four) days without posting an update. I have really been struggling with what to say as Shirley's progress has been positive, but at a pace that has been frustrating to me and down right depressing to Shirley.

Her lungs continue to be doing well and the signs of the infection have subsided.  They have switched her to a much more targeted antibiotic which she will be on for six to eight weeks.

Part of my reluctance to write was because of my concern that she was again not getting enough food to help her heal and rebuild her strength. But yesterday we had a long conversation with the nutritionist and my fears were put to rest.  I was under the impression that Shirley was only getting about 50% of her needed calories through her feeding tube and she was supposed to make up the other half by eating off the general diet menu.  But as I watched her order a peanut butter sandwich for breakfast and then just nibble at it all day (like for 10 - 12 hours) I thought she couldn't possibly be putting enough fuel in the tank.

The nutritionist assured me that she was getting closer to 90% of her needed calories through the feeding tube so the little she was eating was making her whole.  We also agreed that the formula being fed to her was so low in calories that it filled her up, making her not want to eat more.  After the conversation, they switched her from a 1.2 calories per cc formula to one that is 2.0 calories. They were then able to reduce the flow from 50ml/hour to 35.  This means she's getting more calories but with just over half the mass.  The theory being that she won't feel as full and will be more inclined to eat more--which will then allow them to further reduce the use of the feeding tube.