A Little TOO Optomistic

 Our surgeon came in this morning

and apologized about a million times

for making promises he couldn't keep.

We totally understand.

You sometimes step forward 

and you sometimes step backward.

But it's not a problem, really.

Because waiting for his chest tube

to finish its job has also allowed a little

time for us to clear up his digestion issues.

His belly was bloated, uncomfortable,

and he was sure he would never feel better.

And now, we can't seem to turn it off.

Hahahaha.

Glad he's in a bed, with handy nurses

who are "happy" to make him comfortable

as many times as it takes.

Instead of in our car on a 3-hour drive.

Even when it looks like a set-back,

Heavenly Father has a plan.

We just have to be patient and go for the ride.

Speaking of steps...

Helloooooooooo.

Is that YOU waaaaaay down there?

The PT and OT (and intern) took him for

"a little walk".

I walked it later, using his step-sizes.

THREE HUNDRED AND TWELVE STEPS!

Yesterday when he was walking,

it was mostly an old man shuffle.

Today he was taking actual steps.

I am so proud of him!

Getting up out of bed or off his chair

is going SO well!

His arms and legs are regaining strength

and remembering their jobs.

Getting back into bed isn't fun.

There's just no way to go from sitting

to laying down without violating some

aspect of the good ol' BLT.

(No Bending, Lifting, Twisting)

It's more of a side flop.

Which is super fun with 12 broken ribs.

Pain shoots from 0 to 100.

But it's over quickly.

As soon as he's laying flat again,

he's back to very low pain levels.

All he needs is a kiss and a sip of water.

We were hoping to go for a walk while

the plumbing seems to be cooperating,

but they hooked him to a new IV (after

bringing in the specialist because they couldn't

find any more veins... yesterday they even

brought in a "fish finder / vein finder" thing...)

The IV guy brought in an ultrasound but

didn't need it.

Anyhow... 2 hours on a calcium glycinate (?)

drip and THEN he can go for a walk.

Anyhow.

They are now saying after looking at his

dawn x-ray today (hello... SLEEPING HERE!)

that there's still some gunk in there and

although his lung looks better, it's

still slightly collapsed. Taking a little

extra time to fill in all the little holes.

So another day on the chest tube on suction mode.

But rehab facilities don't take new patients

on the weekends, so it will be at least

Monday before we transfer.

I'm not happy, but not sad either.

I really want to be in Hays and closer

to home and family (real and ward),

but there is something to be said for being

here with doctors and nurses, even when

they want to take blood and do x-rays

at the most ridiculous hours.

The days are long and boring.

But today he discovered the Hallmark

channel on his TV. 

So things are looking up.