Four Milkshakes

I have a hotspot, so life at the hospital has gotten much easier.

            I slept overnight in David's room, Monday night and last night. He appreciated the company. He and I both had excellent sleeps: bed at 10 p.m., brief wake-ups at 11:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. for nursing, and then the bright, loud voice of the surgery resident at 6 a.m. I was going to roll over and sleep through it, till I realized who she was, so I woke up enough to listen.

                                    Good news today:

Ø  The surgeon plans to remove the sponge and wound vacuum from the abdominal incision tomorrow morning, 15 May, in the PACU (post-op acute care). The PACU is precautionary, so that if the local anesthesia isn't sufficient, they can administer some sedation and anesthesia as needed.

Ø  The state of the wound will determine what exactly they will do. The goal is to staple each end and perhaps staple the entire wound shut. Otherwise they will tape the middle.

Ø  Without the wound vac, which uses a portable motorized pump, about the size of a small toaster, David will be more mobile.

Ø  The preliminary analysis of the CSF for infection and viruses is negative.

Ø  We are waiting for the cytogenetic analysis of the CSF, looking for leukemia cell markers. The fact that his white blood counts are back up to normal means the test will be more accurate than last week.

Ø  Although they are short-staffed today, Molly, a physical therapist, energetic and take charge, arrived this morning to start PT. With two lumbar punctures in two days and once a day vomiting, David has not taken 2 steps in three days.)

Ø  David is to sit up, unsupported, as tolerated.

Ø  David is to lie down, as flat as possible, to stretch the abs.

Ø  I read him Helaman 5 and 6 today, the third day in a row that we've had some scripture study. Yesterday he was reading single verses, with difficulty. Today he just rested while I read.

Ø  David had 4milkshakes today, with no vomiting. The vomiting is a mechanical problem. The intestines are still  sluggish from surgery,  so peristalsis stalls and vomiting occurs. The remedy is to go slow, but keep trying until it takes.

Ø  Not so good, but manageable: one lap around the unit shot his heart rate to 132. Katie, our nurse from Minnesota (who has seen the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota, or at least the movie), monitored it.

Other item:

Two inventory soldiers were here yesterday, checking the registration of the bed. "This looks like a SICU bed," one muttered to the other. Katie confirmed that they want to reclaim the bed. It’s been a nice bed.

Next steps:

Ø  Get the final CSF results.

Ø  See how much of the wound they can staple tomorrow.

Ø  Have David sit up and exercise, without overdoing it.