Sorry this update didn't come sooner, it's been a bit more hectic and less sitting & waiting.
He had a rough night in the ICU, somewhat to be expected the day of heart surgery and all. Made a bit worse than it should've been by a less than 100% attentive nurse and a generally lousy sleep pattern. BUT, he finally had some good indications in the morning that meant ice chips, water and melted popsicle-slushees were all good to go. And by the time I got to ICU he was sitting in a big chair and out of bed, had his chest tubes removed and was getting the ok to be moved to step-down later in the day. YAY!
Granted, moving to the chair was the equivalent of running the NY marathon and a herculean effort he said, but he did it and stayed upright until time to move to step-down. Many thanks to his nurse David who took such good care of him after the long night and got him in better shape this morning.
He moved to step-down around noon. I moved the family members upstairs to a closer waiting area to his room and away from their near fiefdom in the surgical waiting area. They managed to commandeer a large round table and many chairs yesterday and took turns holding the fort from invaders for more than 12 hours. The land had been retaken by others this morning, but at some point when I came back down from ICU they must have staged a coup because they had it back again and held their ground until after lunch when I relocated them. Impressive -- very.
Michael has been diligent with his breathing exercises. The gizmo they gave him in ICU that he has now is better than the one we saw in the patient ed videos. This one was at least the 2nd runner-up in a design contest. In step-down he now also has the infamous heart-patient-heart pillow. For coughing and hugging and breathing. It's literally red and heart-shaped (ok .. no ..not anatomically heart shaped - valentine shaped -- I can just hear some of you correcting that as I type!).
We've had some short in/out visits with family today now that he has nifty private digs now. First order of business was M sending me back to hotel to bring his iPod and his new iPod speaker dock with remote. Music now. STAT!!
He's rested, been monitored, less poking and prodding, and even ate! Broth and jello, but hey!
Thanks for all the well wishes. Keep reading and leaving comments - he's gonna get his laptop back soon. And he's asked me to compile notes from people. He loves when I pass along all the great notes and folks who've left a note. Thank you all!
Peace
Jenn
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
Glad to hear you are out of ICU. The ipod comments remind me of when Michael spent Thanksgiving with us and we stayed up late listening to music and playing UNO.
We are thinking of you.
-Matt
So glad that things seem to be progressing well. I hope the Ipod tunes tread you well and that you are jamming again in no time.
All the best,
Neal
So pleased that Michael is doing so well. I have been thinking of you a lot. I hope that things continue along this path and that Michael is back to us soon!! Miss you Michael!! Thank you Jen for keeping us updated on how he's doing!
Deb
Michael and Jenn, all our love and best wishes for this whole process of healing to speed up and get done! Jim sends you his best Michael...he also has 2 red heart huggy pillows and has all the empathy in the world for you right now. We constantly "lurk" both blogs and keep up with postings. Love you both lots!!
Jim & Cece
So glad to hear that Michael is doing well. My mom and I, along with many online friends that I have spoke to have been thinking of him. Thanks Jenn for all the updates and for keeping us posted. I hope the good progress continues!! Take care!
Jordan & Amy
Post a Comment