Day 22 - 23

I wear my heart on my sleeve, I've always known that. I wouldn't say it's something I'm proud of, but I don't mind it, and it's just who I am. That said, thanks to all of you who reached out to us today. Dr. Lambert sensed the mood in our room this morning, and upon leaving us, called the missionaries and asked them to come for a visit. They made it to the hospital around 6:00 this evening and gave Nate a priesthood blessing. We're thankful for the comfort we received.

It was another long day in the ICU. Nate continues to make small steps in his recovery. The step he really needs to make is to have his stomach wake up so he can say goodbye to the NG tube that's he's had for nine days now. If his stomach starts emptying on its own, he can start a clear liquid diet. This would make a huge difference in his morale. All he wants to do is slam a glass of water.

It's hard to think that Nate is really only three days out from his most recent surgery. We want to count the days from the surgery last Tuesday, so it's tough to be patient. Each surgery begins a new countdown to recovery. After a surgery like this, it's expected for his bowels to stay asleep for three plus days. But, when the first surgery was nine days ago and everything is still asleep, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that Nate is really only three days out. None of the post op days even counted last week! It's frustrating.

His white count is up again today so they are watching that closely. He's still on antibiotics so we pray that they will help his body take care of whatever infection lingers. He also continues to get I.V. Nutrition that's meant to prevent his body from breaking down muscle.

He got out of bed twice today, and even walked down to the nurse's station. He had fans rooting him on the whole way. He's got quite a following here. The Surgical Residents absolutely love him! The Chief Resident commended him for the way he's handled this whole ordeal, and told him that maybe he needed to do a little "healthy yelling". Apparently, the surgeons here get yelled at quite often by their patients, but he said Nate's been nothing but polite. It does my heart good to see others recognize Nate's good qualities.

We're hoping that his stomach will wake up tomorrow so he can get some relief. We also hope to get out of the ICU, and up to Oncology where Nate doesn't have to be hooked up to all of the monitors. It's a bit quieter up there, and the nurses don't come in nearly as often.

We are grateful for continued thoughts and prayers. We couldn't do this without the support we receive from all of you. Love to all.