It has been an uneventful day, thank goodness! Two days ago, they performed a tracheoctomy on Will so he would not have to have the tube down his windpipe, which he hated. With a trach, he can be ventilated or breathe on his own with a little oxygen. This way he can be weined from the ventilator. Yesterday he breathed on his own for 5 hours, but his heart rate went up and they changed back to the ventilator. He's been on that ever since. They want his heart rate to stay below 120 before trying the breathing on his own.
The doctors assure me that his full recovery is not in doubt. It's just that with the pneumonia, infection, etc, his recovery will be very slow and may take several months. Hopefully, we will be out of the hospital in 10 to 12 days and then to Ron's house for a few days before starting home.
We are so anxious to get home!
A couple of you have asked me how I feel now about our decision to come to MD Anderson for the surgery. Mixed feelings: glad that we were here when all of the complications came up, but sure miss home, friends and kids since we had to be gone much,much longer than we expected.
I am staying in the ICU room with Will and every 3rd day, his brother, Ron, comes from noon to 8:00 pm to relieve me. The ICU room has a recliner chair that converts to a single bed that I sleep on. The cafeteria food and restrooms leave something to be desired -- a little like camping out without the scenery! And of course, visitors all through the night: drawing blood, inhalation therapy and giving shots, etc. From now on, every time I crawl into my own bed and shower in my own bathroom, I will be grateful!
All in all, mostly what we need is patience, I'm not even sure that is the way to spell the word. Daily improvement comes in very small steps. Patience has never been one of Will's strong suits and I haven't noticed that I have an abundance either. So if you have any extra, please send right away!
Thanks to all of you who have sent comments on the blog and emails to Will via me. I am in the process of reading them to him and it is so good for him.
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2 comments:
As you say, Kaye, a day of no new news is good news. We will all have to get used to the idea that recovery is going to be a much longer process than expected. And at each step you are making the very best decisions that you can. It seems that both of you have been very patient. The pace of recovery is still an unknown.
We just wish we could be there to give you a hug and kiss and some moral support. We were awfully glad to get this message today.
Love, Bob and Janet
We are thinking of you so often. I hope things stay "uneventful" until you tell me you are heading north to Kansas!
Love from both of us,
Stephene and Den
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