Lazy Sundays

After that last post, I realized that I never actually updated anyone on how Nate's actually doing after the surgery! Another indication of my lapse in brain power. Thursday morning was a little wild. Since he came out of surgery in the middle of the night, the anesthesiologists wanted to wait until morning to extubate Nate so he could rest. When he woke up, he was confused and agitated about having the breathing tube in. He had to concentrate hard to resist fighting the ventilator. He also needed some fluids and electrolyte replacement, so he had to wait until 1:45 in the afternoon to finally get the tube out and breath on his own. That was a huge relief!

3ICU - Day 0-4

The rest of the day went pretty smoothly until he realized that he couldn't move his left leg, so the pain team came in and turned his epidural down. He soon began to regain control of his leg, but he also started to feel a lot of pain, at a level of 7 or 8, which is really high for Nate. He finally ended up with a PCA (pain button), and a smaller dose in the epidural. I've mention before that Nate's a bit of a light weight when it comes to pain meds (which actually works to his advantage), and he hasn't disappointed! I'll just say that Friday was a pretty entertaining day in 3ICU! Thankfully, they got his pain under control and he slept his way to Saturday morning. Well, maybe 'slept' isn't the right term....

He had a rough night listening to the nurses 'chit chat' at the station just outside his room, and also had to endure several (as in 8 or 9) needle pokes as they tried to find a good vein after all of his IV's went bad. His right forearm and hand looked like he'd been working out with Popeye after about a liter of fluid was pumped into it through a bad IV site. Yesterday was a long day for Nate, but he remained his ever cheerful self. He is, once again, a staff favorite.

Nice view of the Nurse's Station...a lively place at 3 a.m!

Today was a pretty eventful day (as eventful days go in the ICU), and Nate made some great progress! This morning he got the great news that his NG tube could come out. Hallelujah and Amen! Nate's nurse pulled the dreaded thing at 11:45 and Nate was a happy man! He got all cleaned up and sat in the chair for a while. He was upgraded on his diet to "sips and chips" and even got to use a spoon to get to the ice chips! He also took his maiden voyage around the nurse's station!
 

We got to listen in during the Primary Program via Seth's phone at church which was a great boost! Sam and Sydney got a little surprise when the Bishop asked them to come to the podium and say a few words. So awesome to know what great hands they are in.

Love these crazy kids! 

I left for a few hours to go to church where I saw some old friends from our last visit and met (get ready for this) Nate's cousin's wife's brother and his wife! They live right here in Worcester! Crazy! The missionaries came by tonight to bring Nate the sacrament. I'm grateful that wherever we go, we can find access to the priesthood and its blessings.

The fun continued as we learned that Nate's ICU bed is needed, so he's getting transferred out of the unit and onto the Oncology floor! This means a few things. First, he gets a room with a door, which means quiet. Second, he doesn't have to be hooked to all of the monitors so they took off the sticky leads. Third, I don't have to call from the waiting room and get buzzed in anymore! Fourth, he's well enough to be out of the ICU!!!

Movin' on up to 6 East - Oncology
Nice legs, huh?

Quoting a wise friend, "We know not what tomorrow will bring and so we bask in the good news of today!"

Looking forward to losing some of that equipment in the background!

Pictures tomorrow...my devices won't sync. Argh. Pictures added! Enjoy!