May 22, 2011

Scott had a better night last night and a pretty good morning thus far. His heart rate has been 80-90, which is wonderful and much improved. He is still on fluid restriction because his (IV) input continues to exceed his output. He can not have more than 500ml, roughly 16 ounces-a small water bottle of fluids today. Of course, he wants so much more. He was put on a diuretic, Lasix, to try and rid his body of the extra fluid. This medication also causes him to feel extremely thirsty. His lungs are still clear which is very reassuring.

His lab results were pretty much the same today. Platelets still low and sodium still a bit low. There was one concerning value though, his albumin was low today, which is a new concern. This can be a result of his liver impairment or a sign of malnutrition, which they believe is the more likely causes. The healthcare team has discussed inserting a feeding tube, in Scott's nose, down his throat, and into his stomach to get him the nutrition he needs to get well. This hasn't happened yet, so we will see what the day brings.

Janiece asked the nurse why he wouldn't be allowed to try and eat orally to get the nutrition he needs and basically she said it would be impossible for Scott to consume enough of the right calories he needs. He just isn't well enough for that, yet.

He also needed to have a swallow study to before he was allowed to drink. They needed to make sure that he had a gag reflex (sometimes this is slow to "wake up" after surgery and after being very ill) and that he would be able to drink without aspirating (choking). He did well for the swallow study. His bed does not allow him to sit all the way up so the results were that he can have a little bit of water/ice chips (less damaging if he were to aspirate) while he is sitting up as far as he can in bed and he can have other fluids (apple juice, jello etc) when he is sitting up in the chair.

The physical therapist came in again today to try and get Scott out of bed and into a chair. He tried this yesterday but only made it to sitting up at the bedside. Imagine yourself terribly sick, no oral food or drink for four days now, pain from surgery, and standing and moving yourself to a chair with only one leg. Scott's not exactly a small guy either...

It wasn't easy and about midway Scott, absolutely exhausted wanted to sit back on the bed. With some encouraging words, he pushed through and made it!

The nurse, physical therapists, Janiece, and I burst into applause. Janiece and I cried. It was a momentous moment and I am so happy I was able to be a part of it.

After Scott sat down he said "Ahh, that feels so good!"

As a reward he was given a small amount of Jello, a frozen orange "dessert", and a Popsicle. This was the greatest reward he could have been given. He savored his "treats" and looked so good.

He is back in bed now and resting. He will have his third surgery to clean his wound again tomorrow morning. I'll update again at the end of the day.