Hat Trick!
Dad completed his third day in a row of PT/OT today! Some sport calls three goals in a row a hat trick, right? That's not my strong suit, sorry.
His white count is still low. The clot is still in his leg, but a doctor told me today that the blood thinner he's on will help it to gradually dissolve over the next couple of months. I had no idea blood clots take so long to go away! Still no plans for his next foot surgery. His toes are still a bit swollen. I'm not sure whether his feet are since they're almost always wrapped in bandages.
Dad was the most awake today that I've seen him since day one. Did I say that yesterday? If I did, he was even more awake today. However, when I say "awake," I mean his eyes were open. He still spent most of his day animatedly building things in his lap, talking all about his projects, and directing people on his job site whether they were really in the room or not. He dropped his call button/TV remote at one point and asked me to pick up his tape measurer. He pulled out his nasal oxygen cannula (for the third time) and began trying to tie it in knots (fancy knots like he uses for his tree work. We didn't let him succeed, lest the nurse find herself in a pickle having to untie the knots).
He fed himself all of the fork-friendly food at lunch and handled his own cup throughout the day, only spilling chocolate milk on himself twice. And he remembered to keep his eyes open through his meal, so it only took him about fifteen minutes to eat. I wasn't there for breakfast or dinner, but at dinner he reportedly mocked a motherly "One more bite! One more bite!" while Mom fed him chicken stir fry (she was not actually saying that to him, for the record).
We've begun peppering any medical professionals who give us their attention with questions about local rehab facilities and their opinions on his confusion/delusions. So far, all of our questions have only led us to ask more questions, but I think we're going in the right direction on both fronts.
Pray that he poops. There, I said it. I've danced around that issue in this blog for days; maybe you've noticed the mentions of "abdominal pain" and "helping digestion," but it's been too long to try to be discreet. We need more prayer aimed at this. He's already being given what they can give him to help him out, but nothing is happening. We're beginning to worry about whether he can, and what can be done if he can't. Interestingly, this is not the first time I've requested for other people to pray for a loved one's bowels. It's good to know the Body of Christ cares about the whole Body. ;-)
Love to all, thanks for your ongoing prayers and support.
Shout out to Sarah who gathered meals from three people and drove 4 hours today to bring them to our family! What love! Thank you!
His white count is still low. The clot is still in his leg, but a doctor told me today that the blood thinner he's on will help it to gradually dissolve over the next couple of months. I had no idea blood clots take so long to go away! Still no plans for his next foot surgery. His toes are still a bit swollen. I'm not sure whether his feet are since they're almost always wrapped in bandages.
Dad was the most awake today that I've seen him since day one. Did I say that yesterday? If I did, he was even more awake today. However, when I say "awake," I mean his eyes were open. He still spent most of his day animatedly building things in his lap, talking all about his projects, and directing people on his job site whether they were really in the room or not. He dropped his call button/TV remote at one point and asked me to pick up his tape measurer. He pulled out his nasal oxygen cannula (for the third time) and began trying to tie it in knots (fancy knots like he uses for his tree work. We didn't let him succeed, lest the nurse find herself in a pickle having to untie the knots).
He fed himself all of the fork-friendly food at lunch and handled his own cup throughout the day, only spilling chocolate milk on himself twice. And he remembered to keep his eyes open through his meal, so it only took him about fifteen minutes to eat. I wasn't there for breakfast or dinner, but at dinner he reportedly mocked a motherly "One more bite! One more bite!" while Mom fed him chicken stir fry (she was not actually saying that to him, for the record).
We've begun peppering any medical professionals who give us their attention with questions about local rehab facilities and their opinions on his confusion/delusions. So far, all of our questions have only led us to ask more questions, but I think we're going in the right direction on both fronts.
Pray that he poops. There, I said it. I've danced around that issue in this blog for days; maybe you've noticed the mentions of "abdominal pain" and "helping digestion," but it's been too long to try to be discreet. We need more prayer aimed at this. He's already being given what they can give him to help him out, but nothing is happening. We're beginning to worry about whether he can, and what can be done if he can't. Interestingly, this is not the first time I've requested for other people to pray for a loved one's bowels. It's good to know the Body of Christ cares about the whole Body. ;-)
Love to all, thanks for your ongoing prayers and support.
Shout out to Sarah who gathered meals from three people and drove 4 hours today to bring them to our family! What love! Thank you!
I've been wanting to ask regarding his bodily functions and you answered my question. Thank you! I know that can be a real issue following surgery, not to mention the severe trauma to his body so I've been very concerned about this. Will continue to pray!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteLove you all!!!!!
All of you are in my prayers!!!!!!!
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