Day 17 - Holding Pattern

Nate is officially in a "holding pattern"...not his favorite place to be. When they brought his wound closer together, they had to put tension sutures in his abdominal muscles to hold them closer together (before the muscles were just laying open). We were informed that the pain involved with tension sutures on such a large muscle group can be an extremely painful situation. Those muscles are also very strong, and if used too much could compromise the tension sutures, so they recommended that Nate stay in bed. He shouldn't even sit up.

He's completely tethered to the bed for another couple of days. He still has his NG tube (nose to stomach), his nasal canula for oxygen in his nose, his wound vac coming from his belly, his port is accessed, he has an IV in each arm, his continuous blood pressure cuff, his oxygen saturation monitor on his finger, four leads on his chest for vital signs, his catheter, and both calves are in pressure boots to help prevent blood clots. He also has his pain pump button, which is the only cord he's happy to have around. His nurse could see he was feeling all tangled up so she figured out how he could have one arm free. She switched his IV lines around so two of them run into his IV in his left arm. Now he only has a capped IV line in his right arm. Another small blessing!

The day here was a little gloomy, and a little long. We've never been Saturday TV watchers! Heck, we don't even watch daytime TV at home! This really makes us grateful for the blessing of a healthy body. What freedom!

They started him on TPN, or intravenous nutrition, today. He hasn't had anything to eat or drink since Tuesday morning, and that was just a piece of toast and a few sips of Gatorade. He's still not as thin as he got back in February and March, but he's getting pretty skinny! I need to feed that boy some ice cream! Hopefully he'll get to start on some clear liquids on Tuesday.

He still has four antibiotics running, and his blood cultures still show no growth. Thank goodness for that! He's also on Lasix, a diuretic, to help him get rid of as much fluid as possible to help the inflammation in his bowels decrease in preparation for his surgery on Monday. I am praying nonstop that they'll be able to get everything done and close him up.

Our dear friends from home, Andy and Tara, came to visit us last night! Before we came here, they felt like they needed to come out during our stay to visit and help us keep our sanity. They didn't tell us they were coming, but when we made plans to come home last Thursday they let us know that they had airline reservations to come here on the same day! I was deeply touched that they would do this for us. When Nate was readmitted on Tuesday, Tara sent a text that said, "We'll see you on Thursday!" What a blessing it is to have some familiar faces around to help remind us that there is 'normalcy' out there, and it's just waiting for us to get home! It's been a big boost to my spirits. I don't think I would have considered doing what they did, but I will now if the need ever arises. Thanks Tara and Andy...we love you!

Andy and Tara kickin' back in the Surgical ICU

Our kids are still  having a great time back home. Seth got to go back to Farmington to stay with his good friend for the week...I feel a teenager coming on! Emma, Sam, and Sydney are still in Idaho enjoying cousins there and cousins from Montana that just came for a visit to help provide a new distraction. My mom is definitely the "hostess with the mostest"! Thanks Mom!