Day 6...I Really CAN"T Keep Him Down!

Nate had another eventful day. On Sunday, his food orders went from "sips and chips" to a clear liquid diet. Yesterday he was advanced to a full liquid diet which he tolerated very well. Before the surgery, he swore that he wouldn't drink any chicken broth while here. Well, it's amazing what a man will eat/drink when he gets hungry! At lunch he even ate cream of wheat! Just before dinner, he was upgraded again to a regular diet! He does have to make good choices, like no meat, veggies, fresh fruit. No matter! He was pretty happy with a grilled cheese sandwich and a baked potato. He is completely on board with being cautious
and advancing slowly. We don't want to have any "incidents" this time around!

Goodbye Baby!

Nate's been up walking a lot today. He cruises around the Nurse's Station every couple of hours, and is feeling stronger with each trip. He started the day with 3 surgical drains and an IV for replacement fluids, electrolytes and pain control. Because two of the drains had decreased output, Dr. Lambert was able to remove them late in the afternoon! The third drain, by his liver, continues to drain bile, so will remain in until it stops.

That's not all! Because Nate is tolerating his diet, he was started on oral pain meds, which means that the IV was unplugged! His port is still accessed so he can still get IV meds if needed, but he doesn't have to drag that lovely pole around anymore! I was getting a little weary of the competition anyway! Like I said, no IV means no pain button, which means more pain for Nate and it's harder to control. This is where a good nurse can help out. Right now he has a great nurse, who grew up in Utah (crazy), that helps him stay on top of it really well. Praying the night nurse won't be too shy about waking him up for meds! Sorry Nate!

As you can see, losing the IV has its pros and cons. One more pro is something that makes a huge difference to Nate.....he got to have a real shower! Yay! Don't worry, there's no pictures.

We don't know when Nate will be discharged to the Hope Lodge, but the goals are controlling Nate's pain, tolerating his diet, removing his staples (there's 64 of them!), and removing the third surgical drain. If there are no other complications (praying!), that drain is what could keep us here. They say it could take up to four weeks to stop, but we like to believe it'll stop way before then! Hey, a girl can hope, and pray, and pray some more!

Thanks friends! Made our day!

We received a great surprise today when Nate's nurse delivered this cute little bundle! It's from Nate's co-workers at UAMPS. Thanks UAMPS! We love you, and appreciate everything you do to help lighten our burdens.

Here's to a good night with restful sleeping and pain free dreams!