Bill is doing wonderfully.
He doesn't look REALLY right...at ALL...but he is much less yellow, and he is sleeping a LOT, almost all day and all night. I think that seems like a very good thing. Seems restful, and he seems cheerful when he's awake.
He can eat a little bit, too.
I made the full menu Thanksgiving yesterday (Saturday) for JP, Emma, and myself, and Mister Bill drank Ensure. But by about 9 pm, he wanted a little bit of my homemade macaroni and cheese. Then he put in a "reserve" for a piece of pumpkin pie he saw in the fridge. Couldn't eat it last night, but is still looking at it with increasing enthusiasm this morning.
He is supposed to eat frequent small portions of high protein, to rebuild his liver, which will be completely grown back in 1 to 3 weeks. Is that not crazy??????
The future: Nothing medical is planned for Bill until, in 4 weeks, we go back to Dr. Shen for a checkup on the surgical recovery. I don't know when chemo will start.
I'll go back to posting every Sunday, but I might throw in some posts in between, if stuff happens.
Love to all and endless gratitude for your prayers and thoughts and wishes and love...
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Saturday, November 27, 2010
He's Better! Crisis (Probably) Averted
We checked him through the night, and while his fever is still just under 100, that' still in the safety zone. And his color has come down a bit, too, to where he looks like a human and not an order of take-out Indian curry.
We're taking care of him right now, doing things, but I sneaked out to write this so you wouldn't worry.
I have a feeling some certain prayers didn't exactly hurt, bringing us around yet another corner. (You know who you are.) :)
Love and THANKS for letting us go thru this drama while you care WITH us!
xoxoxoxoxox
We're taking care of him right now, doing things, but I sneaked out to write this so you wouldn't worry.
I have a feeling some certain prayers didn't exactly hurt, bringing us around yet another corner. (You know who you are.) :)
Love and THANKS for letting us go thru this drama while you care WITH us!
xoxoxoxoxox
Friday, November 26, 2010
PS to Post of 5 Minutes Ago
PS We did a skin comparison test, and all held our hands against Bill's to assess how yellow he actually is. Against MY hand, his hand looked like he'd been building sand castles out of French's mustard, but against his daughter's hand, his color didn't look so strange--so the consensus now is that we aren't sure HOW yellow he is, so we are going to set alarms and check on him through the night, and see what color he seems in the morning--if we aren't in the ER by morning.
As JP said just now, "You two get some sleep. I'll clear off the helicopter landing pad in the back yard for the 3 am pickup."
Oh.
My.
Goodness.
HALP!
As JP said just now, "You two get some sleep. I'll clear off the helicopter landing pad in the back yard for the 3 am pickup."
Oh.
My.
Goodness.
HALP!
Uh oh. The Drama Begins at the Not-OK Corral
He's home, and, as his daughter put it, he looked better 5 minutes after surgery than he looks right now.
We are beside ourselves. "We" meaning Emma and I. JP will soon be beside himself when he gets back home and sees this.
Apparently, Mister I Will Trick The Medical Staff By Telling Little White Lies About How Great I Feel said whatever it took to get released.
And now he is, seriously, BRIGHT yellow--even his FEET are yellow--in rather large pain, has a fever of 99.8 (just .7 more degrees and we have to call Someone But Bill Forgot Who per his release papers--100.5 is the cutoff point for serious danger) AND a distended abdomen, AND can't walk without almost fainting AND can't eat AND isn't drinking AND doesn't have the correct pain meds because they sent him home with just a piece of paper prescription at 7:30 pm when the pharmacies are closed (we actually have a good substitute, left over from chemo, so we're okay with the meds), AND he just fell into his bed and conked out with complete and utter exhaustion.
Note to neighbors: If you hear sirens right about the middle of the night, it will be young William on his way back to Oz, where he obviously shouldn't have clicked the little red sparkly shoes QUITE so fast.
We don't know whether to hover over him and set our alarms for every 3 hours to check him, or GROUND him or take away his Kindle or SOMETHING because he was VERY naughty and should NOT have gotten himself released!
I'll tell you this: I am SOOOOOOOOOO glad beyond all description that there are THREE OF us here right now to collaborate on what we should do with this unbelievable scenario.
I will post again as soon as we see progress in any direction. I just hope I'm not posting from Wake Forest Medical Center at 3 am.
Oh.
Lord.
Have.
Mercy.
We are beside ourselves. "We" meaning Emma and I. JP will soon be beside himself when he gets back home and sees this.
Apparently, Mister I Will Trick The Medical Staff By Telling Little White Lies About How Great I Feel said whatever it took to get released.
And now he is, seriously, BRIGHT yellow--even his FEET are yellow--in rather large pain, has a fever of 99.8 (just .7 more degrees and we have to call Someone But Bill Forgot Who per his release papers--100.5 is the cutoff point for serious danger) AND a distended abdomen, AND can't walk without almost fainting AND can't eat AND isn't drinking AND doesn't have the correct pain meds because they sent him home with just a piece of paper prescription at 7:30 pm when the pharmacies are closed (we actually have a good substitute, left over from chemo, so we're okay with the meds), AND he just fell into his bed and conked out with complete and utter exhaustion.
Note to neighbors: If you hear sirens right about the middle of the night, it will be young William on his way back to Oz, where he obviously shouldn't have clicked the little red sparkly shoes QUITE so fast.
We don't know whether to hover over him and set our alarms for every 3 hours to check him, or GROUND him or take away his Kindle or SOMETHING because he was VERY naughty and should NOT have gotten himself released!
I'll tell you this: I am SOOOOOOOOOO glad beyond all description that there are THREE OF us here right now to collaborate on what we should do with this unbelievable scenario.
I will post again as soon as we see progress in any direction. I just hope I'm not posting from Wake Forest Medical Center at 3 am.
Oh.
Lord.
Have.
Mercy.
White Friday: Cowboy Comin Home!
Wild Willie called me this morning from his hospital bed and said that Dr. Shen said he could come home this afternoon!
But the weird thing about his recent phone calls is that, while I should be strictly happy when he tells me these things, instead, my emotions fly around like a deranged one-winged bat.
First, he sounds kind of terrible on the phone. But that's a vague example.
Mainly, I get upset when he tells me that Dr. Shen said, "In some ways, I want to keep you here another day because your kidneys function is disintegrating, but I'm just going to take you off Ibuprofen, which causes kidney failure even at the recommended dosage, and you can go home."
Oh.
Lord.
Those of you who know me, and my If The Slightest Symptom Is Suspicious We Must Push The Panic Button Right Now personality, I am NOT THE RIGHT PERSON to be in CHARGE OF SOMEONE who has been told that their kidneys are sort of failing.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
Note to self: Put Dr. Shen's home phone number on speed dial.
Other note to self: Put Dr. Shen's home address into my "Favorites" section on my Garmin navigation device.
Okay, so back to the story.
Well......recalling that last time he came home from a hospital, he was back in an ambulance within the first five minutes after walking through our front door......no, you could not say I am calm about this.
What, you might ask, are the symptoms of kidney failure?
Fever and nausea.
If you've been following along, you know that he had both of those....was it....DAY BEFORE YESTERDAY?
And yesterday, I noticed that his abdomen is extremely swollen. He then looked in a mirror standing up and was shocked at how swollen it was.
What does THAT mean?
Wahhhhhhhhhhhh! Should he REALLY be coming HOME?
Okay, deeeeeeeeeep breathing. Calllllllllmmmmmmmmmmmmming down.
So.
Emma is going to drive down from Richmond, pick him up this afternoon, and bring him home to Blowing Rock. John Paul is still here. Sarah is still Somewhere Out West playing shows. We plan to do a full Thanksgiving Saturday night--minus Sarah, who had Thanksgiving with Some People Out West, whoever they may have been.
As you can well imagine, to avoid all that cooking on Saturday, I will be sneaking over to the nearest hospital cafeteria for takeout, then act like I worked allllllllll day long cooking alllllllllllll those dishes! Especially making the pie from scratch!
*grin*
Stay posted. With this combination of facts coming together, there is bound to be some severe drama headed for us, like a cute little tsunami.
But the weird thing about his recent phone calls is that, while I should be strictly happy when he tells me these things, instead, my emotions fly around like a deranged one-winged bat.
First, he sounds kind of terrible on the phone. But that's a vague example.
Mainly, I get upset when he tells me that Dr. Shen said, "In some ways, I want to keep you here another day because your kidneys function is disintegrating, but I'm just going to take you off Ibuprofen, which causes kidney failure even at the recommended dosage, and you can go home."
Oh.
Lord.
Those of you who know me, and my If The Slightest Symptom Is Suspicious We Must Push The Panic Button Right Now personality, I am NOT THE RIGHT PERSON to be in CHARGE OF SOMEONE who has been told that their kidneys are sort of failing.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
Note to self: Put Dr. Shen's home phone number on speed dial.
Other note to self: Put Dr. Shen's home address into my "Favorites" section on my Garmin navigation device.
Okay, so back to the story.
Well......recalling that last time he came home from a hospital, he was back in an ambulance within the first five minutes after walking through our front door......no, you could not say I am calm about this.
What, you might ask, are the symptoms of kidney failure?
Fever and nausea.
If you've been following along, you know that he had both of those....was it....DAY BEFORE YESTERDAY?
And yesterday, I noticed that his abdomen is extremely swollen. He then looked in a mirror standing up and was shocked at how swollen it was.
What does THAT mean?
Wahhhhhhhhhhhh! Should he REALLY be coming HOME?
Okay, deeeeeeeeeep breathing. Calllllllllmmmmmmmmmmmmming down.
So.
Emma is going to drive down from Richmond, pick him up this afternoon, and bring him home to Blowing Rock. John Paul is still here. Sarah is still Somewhere Out West playing shows. We plan to do a full Thanksgiving Saturday night--minus Sarah, who had Thanksgiving with Some People Out West, whoever they may have been.
As you can well imagine, to avoid all that cooking on Saturday, I will be sneaking over to the nearest hospital cafeteria for takeout, then act like I worked allllllllll day long cooking alllllllllllll those dishes! Especially making the pie from scratch!
*grin*
Stay posted. With this combination of facts coming together, there is bound to be some severe drama headed for us, like a cute little tsunami.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Styrofoam Thanksgiving Occurred!
We did it! Got Thanksgiving dinners--complete feasts!--in styrofoam boxes, took them to Bill's room, and he ate with us! Most meaningful, moving, happy and wondrous Thanksgiving maybe ever!
More news tomorrow. It was unbelievable!
By the way: here's a tip you can always remember. If you don't want to cook a Thanksgiving dinner, and you don't want to drop $25 per person at some fancy Thanksgiving buffet--GO TO THE NEAREST HOSPITAL CAFETERIA! They are always open--even on holidays like Thanksgiving, and they make the most amazing, tremendous feasts for about $6 per person, if you get everything, including pie!
It has never once occurred to me to eat in a hospital cafeteria when most restaurants are closed....It's a weird idea, but....I'm just sayin! It's a major discovery!
Love and hope your Thanksgiving Day was fantastic!
More news tomorrow. It was unbelievable!
By the way: here's a tip you can always remember. If you don't want to cook a Thanksgiving dinner, and you don't want to drop $25 per person at some fancy Thanksgiving buffet--GO TO THE NEAREST HOSPITAL CAFETERIA! They are always open--even on holidays like Thanksgiving, and they make the most amazing, tremendous feasts for about $6 per person, if you get everything, including pie!
It has never once occurred to me to eat in a hospital cafeteria when most restaurants are closed....It's a weird idea, but....I'm just sayin! It's a major discovery!
Love and hope your Thanksgiving Day was fantastic!
Thanksgiving News: Home Tomorrow?!
Bill just called this morning with the nearly unbelievable news that he will probably get to come home tomorrow, the day after Thanksgiving.
All of his problems suddenly resolved, and this morning he is having eggs and toast for breakfast, he is off hydration, off the pain IV, taking pain meds by mouth, and....WHAT JUST HAPPENED??????????
Not only that, but something about his surgery scar has approached the miraculous. Groups of students are coming in to look at it. THERE ARE NO STITCHES OR STAPLES. Apparently, even for Dr. Shen, this is some kind of wild scar situation. It looks exactly like the scar he got in March, and I mean exactly. Which, as you know, should have taken 8 months.
I've got some water in an earthen jug that I'd like Dr Shen to take a look at. (Couldn't resist; a little biblical levity).
I don't know. But this whole thing is kind of WILD! The fever, the abdominal swelling, all the issues, just *poof*?
So...I don't want to get TOO crazy with relief, but looks like tomorrow Cowboy Napolean will probably be doing the Victory March from the SUV to the front door arc du triomph style. I have no idea what I just did to those metaphors, but, well, the scary thing is, YOU FOLLOWED IT! hahahaha
Will write more tonight. Maybe he can try some turkey with us today now that the entire story just altered, mid-plot!
Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!!!
All of his problems suddenly resolved, and this morning he is having eggs and toast for breakfast, he is off hydration, off the pain IV, taking pain meds by mouth, and....WHAT JUST HAPPENED??????????
Not only that, but something about his surgery scar has approached the miraculous. Groups of students are coming in to look at it. THERE ARE NO STITCHES OR STAPLES. Apparently, even for Dr. Shen, this is some kind of wild scar situation. It looks exactly like the scar he got in March, and I mean exactly. Which, as you know, should have taken 8 months.
I've got some water in an earthen jug that I'd like Dr Shen to take a look at. (Couldn't resist; a little biblical levity).
I don't know. But this whole thing is kind of WILD! The fever, the abdominal swelling, all the issues, just *poof*?
So...I don't want to get TOO crazy with relief, but looks like tomorrow Cowboy Napolean will probably be doing the Victory March from the SUV to the front door arc du triomph style. I have no idea what I just did to those metaphors, but, well, the scary thing is, YOU FOLLOWED IT! hahahaha
Will write more tonight. Maybe he can try some turkey with us today now that the entire story just altered, mid-plot!
Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Wednesday Night, Day 3 Report
This entry might be abnormally short. I'm so tired I can hardly think straight. Not sure why, but it's all so stressful, and yet I can't complain because it could all be so much worse.
Saw Bill again today, and he continues to sort of improve. He looks really good, and is still taking walks, and his scar looks amazingly good! His scar starts directly over his heart and goes down at an angle to the bottom of his rib cage and kind of starts toward his back. Unbelievably long scar!
His whole abdomen looks like he might have had a failed career that involved wearing a suicide vest. Scars and holes everywhere! :)
But he is having trouble with a fever that goes up to 102, which is more than a "low grade" fever, they said. And he is now having trouble with nausea and abdominal swelling. He is having to have extra shots every 6 hours for the nausea and the pain, and whatever else.
See, when I'm not there, he doesn't ask questions of the nurses much, so I end up feeling like I don't really know what's going on, because HE doesn't know.
Anyway, our big Styrofoam Thanksgiving plan is called off. How sad is that!!!!
Problem is that his nausea and inability to take in anything but a tiny bit of clear fluids, besides the IV drip, means that we can't sit in his room with food and eat it in front of him. So we've all called it off. We decided to have a Thanksgiving at a later date, when he is home.
So JP and I will go there midday tomorrow for a short visit (he still seems like he prefers to be alone, he said even moreso with the fever and nausea), which is understandable.
Then JP and I will probably traipse down to the cafeteria and eat whatever they're serving down there for thanksgiving, then drive home.
Thank heaven for JP staying here so long! He does all the driving, and gas pumping, and dealing with parking, and every little thing. Even figures out all the meals, and, I mean, just everything! And Emma would be here in a heartbeat if I needed her. She's trying to manage worrying about her dad, and working all at the same time, in Virginia, and now she isn't have any thanksgiving at all! Sarah is in Washington State, I think, so she can't be here, but would want to. I hope she has Thanksgiving with SOMEone!
Well, that's about it. Our boy is better in some ways, but the little weirdness with the fever and abdominal pain and nausea is worrying me. I don't believe it's part of the normal process, because the surgeon had to invent a plan to deal with it, so it wasn't expected, I assume.
I'll write again tomorrow, just once, in the late afternoon, after we pop in and see him for just a tiny while, so he won't have to be alone for Thanksgiving.
Love to you all, and count your blessings! They're there for all of us!
"In the right light, everything's a miracle." --Sufjan Stevens
HAPPY THANKSGIVING and huge wishes and prayers for happiness and love to everyone.
Saw Bill again today, and he continues to sort of improve. He looks really good, and is still taking walks, and his scar looks amazingly good! His scar starts directly over his heart and goes down at an angle to the bottom of his rib cage and kind of starts toward his back. Unbelievably long scar!
His whole abdomen looks like he might have had a failed career that involved wearing a suicide vest. Scars and holes everywhere! :)
But he is having trouble with a fever that goes up to 102, which is more than a "low grade" fever, they said. And he is now having trouble with nausea and abdominal swelling. He is having to have extra shots every 6 hours for the nausea and the pain, and whatever else.
See, when I'm not there, he doesn't ask questions of the nurses much, so I end up feeling like I don't really know what's going on, because HE doesn't know.
Anyway, our big Styrofoam Thanksgiving plan is called off. How sad is that!!!!
Problem is that his nausea and inability to take in anything but a tiny bit of clear fluids, besides the IV drip, means that we can't sit in his room with food and eat it in front of him. So we've all called it off. We decided to have a Thanksgiving at a later date, when he is home.
So JP and I will go there midday tomorrow for a short visit (he still seems like he prefers to be alone, he said even moreso with the fever and nausea), which is understandable.
Then JP and I will probably traipse down to the cafeteria and eat whatever they're serving down there for thanksgiving, then drive home.
Thank heaven for JP staying here so long! He does all the driving, and gas pumping, and dealing with parking, and every little thing. Even figures out all the meals, and, I mean, just everything! And Emma would be here in a heartbeat if I needed her. She's trying to manage worrying about her dad, and working all at the same time, in Virginia, and now she isn't have any thanksgiving at all! Sarah is in Washington State, I think, so she can't be here, but would want to. I hope she has Thanksgiving with SOMEone!
Well, that's about it. Our boy is better in some ways, but the little weirdness with the fever and abdominal pain and nausea is worrying me. I don't believe it's part of the normal process, because the surgeon had to invent a plan to deal with it, so it wasn't expected, I assume.
I'll write again tomorrow, just once, in the late afternoon, after we pop in and see him for just a tiny while, so he won't have to be alone for Thanksgiving.
Love to you all, and count your blessings! They're there for all of us!
"In the right light, everything's a miracle." --Sufjan Stevens
HAPPY THANKSGIVING and huge wishes and prayers for happiness and love to everyone.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
End of Tuesday, Day 2
It's almost 7 pm, and I'm writing this from home.
Those of you who know Bill and me, know that I'm always the one wanting to pay more attention to him, and he's always the one wanting to have less attention paid to himself, so he can do his own thing. Therefore, he usually ends up watching sports at home, while I do some crazy hobby and talk to him ONLY during commercials.
Well, that whole pattern is still the deal at the hospital.
When he is sick, I become a little bit of a hovering mother hen who wants to be at his side, kind of staring at him, and continuously checking his vital sign readouts, and oxygen, and tubes, and giving him straws, and water, and juice, and bla bla bla.
And he is always kind of smiling mildly and hoping I stop staring at him and at his vital signs. hahaha
So today I had JP there to help me interpret whether Bill wanted me to be there or not. After lunch, there was about a half hour discussion between Bill and me and JP, in which I tried to find out from Bill if he wanted me to go home but didn't want to tell me that, or if he wanted me to stay, but didn't want to obligate me. You should have seen me trying to read into everything he said.
Finally, Jp took me aside and said, "Mom, I'm 100% sure that he is hinting that he wants to be alone. I know you want to mother him, but I think he just wants to sleep today."
So that made me feel less anxious about leaving the hospital and driving back home (2 hours). Okay, yeah, I felt a little bit rejected, but the same thing happened during the last surgery when he really did need some space and a lot of quiet at first. I did eventually understand that. hahah
The "do unto others" rule does NOT work when you're me. If it were me, I would never want anyone to go home, if I were in the hospital alone, and couldn't move even my arms enough to reach anything--even the TV remote-- but Bill is the opposite. He's quite the loner, if given a choice.
So we left, and I guess it feels like the right thing.
Sort of. :(
At least the pups were supremely happy to see me get home, and even as I write this, they have plastered themselves to my body, and can hardly stop kissing me. See, that's how I think BILL should be acting! (hahahah just kiddin)
So tomorrow, I GUESS I'll go back and see him for a few hours, or call him and see what he wants. The next day after that, he can't get around having company, because it's Thanksgiving, and we are all meeting there for the styrofoam take-out cafeteria turkey at lunch.
No one has said when he can come home, but it seems like he is doing so well, that I'm guessing it will be within the 5 to 7 day expected time frame. Although he had developed a fever as I was leaving. (Yet another reason I didn't wanna go!)
I'll write more tomorrow after we see him.
Thank you yet again for reading all this! Galaxies of love to you all!
Those of you who know Bill and me, know that I'm always the one wanting to pay more attention to him, and he's always the one wanting to have less attention paid to himself, so he can do his own thing. Therefore, he usually ends up watching sports at home, while I do some crazy hobby and talk to him ONLY during commercials.
Well, that whole pattern is still the deal at the hospital.
When he is sick, I become a little bit of a hovering mother hen who wants to be at his side, kind of staring at him, and continuously checking his vital sign readouts, and oxygen, and tubes, and giving him straws, and water, and juice, and bla bla bla.
And he is always kind of smiling mildly and hoping I stop staring at him and at his vital signs. hahaha
So today I had JP there to help me interpret whether Bill wanted me to be there or not. After lunch, there was about a half hour discussion between Bill and me and JP, in which I tried to find out from Bill if he wanted me to go home but didn't want to tell me that, or if he wanted me to stay, but didn't want to obligate me. You should have seen me trying to read into everything he said.
Finally, Jp took me aside and said, "Mom, I'm 100% sure that he is hinting that he wants to be alone. I know you want to mother him, but I think he just wants to sleep today."
So that made me feel less anxious about leaving the hospital and driving back home (2 hours). Okay, yeah, I felt a little bit rejected, but the same thing happened during the last surgery when he really did need some space and a lot of quiet at first. I did eventually understand that. hahah
The "do unto others" rule does NOT work when you're me. If it were me, I would never want anyone to go home, if I were in the hospital alone, and couldn't move even my arms enough to reach anything--even the TV remote-- but Bill is the opposite. He's quite the loner, if given a choice.
So we left, and I guess it feels like the right thing.
Sort of. :(
At least the pups were supremely happy to see me get home, and even as I write this, they have plastered themselves to my body, and can hardly stop kissing me. See, that's how I think BILL should be acting! (hahahah just kiddin)
So tomorrow, I GUESS I'll go back and see him for a few hours, or call him and see what he wants. The next day after that, he can't get around having company, because it's Thanksgiving, and we are all meeting there for the styrofoam take-out cafeteria turkey at lunch.
No one has said when he can come home, but it seems like he is doing so well, that I'm guessing it will be within the 5 to 7 day expected time frame. Although he had developed a fever as I was leaving. (Yet another reason I didn't wanna go!)
I'll write more tomorrow after we see him.
Thank you yet again for reading all this! Galaxies of love to you all!
Day 2: Cowboy Waking Up!
I'm sitting right beside Mister Rhinestone Cowboy in his teeny hospital room right now! John Paul is here, too, and our Wild Bill is doing pretty well, considering!
He is wide awake, although talking a little slowly. He still has his Demerol button and is trying not to push it, because he wants to keep his, um....digestive system...moving along.
But the result of not pushing the button is that he has to yell from pain, every so often, because he is having cramps. He told the nurse that his pain level is between 6 and 7, and they told him he wasn't pushing his button enough.
He seems satisfied with not pushing the button, though. No accounting for taste.
They moved him from his bed into a lazy-boy type recliner. Then they told him he should try to walk a few steps.
So he got very VERY bold, and decided to walk in the hall, and he went 300 feet! No one expected it, and he wore himself out, but is back in bed recovering from the walk, and the pain it stirred up.
You canNOT tell this patient what to do. He gets these ideas, and that's it!
But of course, it's amazing that he was walking when barely 24 hours ago, he was becoming chopped liver.
While I was writing this, he yelled again, and I turned around and said, "SQUEEZE YOUR PAIN BUTTON!"
He replied, "Oh, yeah."
Ummmm, I think the pain medicine is making him forget to take the pain medicine. haha
About mid-afternoon, JP and I will head back to Blowing Rock. Right now, Bill just said he wants to take a nap and that we should go down to the cafeteria. So WE know when we're being kicked out! :)
I'll post again this evening, once we get home.
In general, he looks great, his color is perfect, he's still on oxygen, but even in the time it took to type this, he's had several major pain cramps. Well, that's how it is!
Love and gratitude to every person following this and caring for my darling Bill.
Love,
Beth
He is wide awake, although talking a little slowly. He still has his Demerol button and is trying not to push it, because he wants to keep his, um....digestive system...moving along.
But the result of not pushing the button is that he has to yell from pain, every so often, because he is having cramps. He told the nurse that his pain level is between 6 and 7, and they told him he wasn't pushing his button enough.
He seems satisfied with not pushing the button, though. No accounting for taste.
They moved him from his bed into a lazy-boy type recliner. Then they told him he should try to walk a few steps.
So he got very VERY bold, and decided to walk in the hall, and he went 300 feet! No one expected it, and he wore himself out, but is back in bed recovering from the walk, and the pain it stirred up.
You canNOT tell this patient what to do. He gets these ideas, and that's it!
But of course, it's amazing that he was walking when barely 24 hours ago, he was becoming chopped liver.
While I was writing this, he yelled again, and I turned around and said, "SQUEEZE YOUR PAIN BUTTON!"
He replied, "Oh, yeah."
Ummmm, I think the pain medicine is making him forget to take the pain medicine. haha
About mid-afternoon, JP and I will head back to Blowing Rock. Right now, Bill just said he wants to take a nap and that we should go down to the cafeteria. So WE know when we're being kicked out! :)
I'll post again this evening, once we get home.
In general, he looks great, his color is perfect, he's still on oxygen, but even in the time it took to type this, he's had several major pain cramps. Well, that's how it is!
Love and gratitude to every person following this and caring for my darling Bill.
Love,
Beth
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