DecisionTime pt.2

After work tonight, we almost got home and then decided to go back to town as there would be just enough time to visit Kataraina.

On our way there, we got a phone call to say that things weren't good but that we would find out more once we reached Starship.

Eventually, I asked Kataraina's mum to explain what was going on.

Earlier today, Kat's mum and the nurses had become concerned by her breathing - shallow, short and sharp. The Registrar put her down for an urgent blood test, which would test her blood-gas levels.

Those results came back this evening. It seems that Kataraina is not exhaling properly, so as a result, the carbon dioxide in her breath is building up in her body and being absorbed into her bloodstream.

The part of the brain which controls breathing, for Kataraina, is damaged. It's not functioning properly and it's sort of telling her body to stop breathing.

She is receiving oxygen, but the problem remains that she can't expell the carbon dioxide fully.

Kataraina's parents were asked to make a decision about what to do. They could continue to medicate and keep her in hospital, eventually putting her on artificial life support permanently, or they could let her die naturally.

They have decided to continue all her medications, including IV-administered antibiotics (just in case she does have an infection they can't see). However, when she stops breathing, they will NOT be resuscitating. She may be moved to palliative care or to ICU. We haven't received that info yet. She may even pull through. She has still got 10 days left of her steroids course, so maybe the full course will help her somehow.