that Dad will be discharged tomorrow.
We think he's been feelin the post-op blues (I know how that goes..yuck) and he's been in a lot of pain. And on top of that, he's been experiencing a lot of dizziness so we're a little afraid that it may be too early.
Anyway, supposedly he's doing great. Thank you again for all your love. We know we have a long road of healing ahead of us. Its wonderful to know we have such great friends. And a huge thanks to our big, kind, strong friends who picked up Dad's bed for us all the way up in SLC and then set it up! There's NO way we would have been able to figure that out, so you saved us bigtime. Thanks to their families too =)
Friday, October 16, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
movin on up!
Dad was moved out of the CVICU to the "normal" floor. He's doing great. They had him walk a couple times today. He may be coming home this weekend!
His kidneys are doing alright, we're happy he won't need dialasys. The only thing he's really dealing with right now, besides the pain, is dizziness. He's been really dizzy. He thought it was the pain meds, but now we're thinking its not. Could be the anesthesia?
Anyway, thanks for checking in. Everyone's prayers have helped so much.
His kidneys are doing alright, we're happy he won't need dialasys. The only thing he's really dealing with right now, besides the pain, is dizziness. He's been really dizzy. He thought it was the pain meds, but now we're thinking its not. Could be the anesthesia?
Anyway, thanks for checking in. Everyone's prayers have helped so much.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Thank goodness..
Dad doesn't remember yesterday.
I couldn't stand that he was going through that much pain.
Today, I got to visit around noon. By then, he had already sat in a chair and taken a few bites of food. He look great! He's still hurting, but not to the point of hallucination.
I gotta hand it to him, he's TOUGH. He has a really high tolerance for pain (he's lived with it for years) so he has been rejecting most of his pain meds. The pain meds make him dizzy and sleepy, which most people like so they can rest, but he wants to push through his rehabilitation and physical therapy as quickly as he can. He got up and marched in place for a long time without getting tired, and was cracking jokes the whole time.
The best moment.. the physical rehab therapist guy (or as Ana and I call him, Dr McHottie-pants lol) asked Dad if he had been in the army (so he could have him march in place) so Dad responded, "Yes! I was in the Japanese Military." Completely serious. Ana and I were DYING. He bought it, of course, and kept complimenting Dad saying things like, "You MUST have been in the military cuz you're doing so great!" He then of course asked Dad if he was really from Japan, so Dad finally gave it up and told him that he was from the Philippines. Then he started speaking Tagalog to my Dad (obviously, he served his mission in the Phils). And instead of my Dad just playing along, he starts saying with his tone,
"Oh here we go.. heeeere we go. Here's another one. Here's ANOTHER one.. who is gonna ask us to invite him over for our food.."
We were rolling on the floor. Dad just kept on marching. Just dishing out sarcastic jokes left and right to all the nurses in the vicinity. Its kinda true, though, we have run into a surprisingly large number of people who served their missions in the Philippines. Makes it hard to talk smack in Tagalog, you never know who'll understand- haha!
So, needless to say, Dad is in great spirits. He's such a fighter, tough as nails, and SUPER motivated to get back into the swing of life. Such an inspiration. I think if it were me, I'd just ask for extra pain pills and veg-out in bed.
Tomorrow, we should hear if his kidneys are doing alright. We pray he won't need to undergo dialasys. And soon, the one chest tube that's hurting him the most will come out. I think once that tube comes out, he'll be running up and down the halls teasing people.
I couldn't stand that he was going through that much pain.
Today, I got to visit around noon. By then, he had already sat in a chair and taken a few bites of food. He look great! He's still hurting, but not to the point of hallucination.
I gotta hand it to him, he's TOUGH. He has a really high tolerance for pain (he's lived with it for years) so he has been rejecting most of his pain meds. The pain meds make him dizzy and sleepy, which most people like so they can rest, but he wants to push through his rehabilitation and physical therapy as quickly as he can. He got up and marched in place for a long time without getting tired, and was cracking jokes the whole time.
The best moment.. the physical rehab therapist guy (or as Ana and I call him, Dr McHottie-pants lol) asked Dad if he had been in the army (so he could have him march in place) so Dad responded, "Yes! I was in the Japanese Military." Completely serious. Ana and I were DYING. He bought it, of course, and kept complimenting Dad saying things like, "You MUST have been in the military cuz you're doing so great!" He then of course asked Dad if he was really from Japan, so Dad finally gave it up and told him that he was from the Philippines. Then he started speaking Tagalog to my Dad (obviously, he served his mission in the Phils). And instead of my Dad just playing along, he starts saying with his tone,
"Oh here we go.. heeeere we go. Here's another one. Here's ANOTHER one.. who is gonna ask us to invite him over for our food.."
We were rolling on the floor. Dad just kept on marching. Just dishing out sarcastic jokes left and right to all the nurses in the vicinity. Its kinda true, though, we have run into a surprisingly large number of people who served their missions in the Philippines. Makes it hard to talk smack in Tagalog, you never know who'll understand- haha!
So, needless to say, Dad is in great spirits. He's such a fighter, tough as nails, and SUPER motivated to get back into the swing of life. Such an inspiration. I think if it were me, I'd just ask for extra pain pills and veg-out in bed.
Tomorrow, we should hear if his kidneys are doing alright. We pray he won't need to undergo dialasys. And soon, the one chest tube that's hurting him the most will come out. I think once that tube comes out, he'll be running up and down the halls teasing people.
Monday, October 12, 2009
4:30(ish)pm
Dad started opening his eyes again, waving his hand. The doc came and did a few tests to see if he's ready to be extubated. He surely was..
I opted to watch them do it..
I really hope he doesn't remember today.
He immediately started breathing on his own, but he clearly was in agonizing pain. I cannot imagine the pain he is experiencing. They said with every breath comes pain.
It was SO HARD to see him like this. But I felt stronger than I've ever been, so THANK YOU for your prayers. WE thank you for your prayers. Our family has truly felt the tender mercies that root from your kind prayers.
I am so inspired by my Dad. He's a lot stronger and tougher than we give him credit for. He's really fighting. He's fighting through the pain, and fighting for his life. And he's already cracking jokes between the moans and groans. So we are happy.
He's doing great so far, the big thing now is to watch that his kidneys don't fail over the next few days so he won't need dialasys. They are hoping to get him sitting later this evening or early morning, and possibly walking the halls tomorrow afternoon.
Thanks again to everyone who has sent their love, to our great friends who helped watch the grandkids, and for the many prayers that have helped our family through this trial.
We'll keep ya posted!
-Lea
I opted to watch them do it..
I really hope he doesn't remember today.
He immediately started breathing on his own, but he clearly was in agonizing pain. I cannot imagine the pain he is experiencing. They said with every breath comes pain.
It was SO HARD to see him like this. But I felt stronger than I've ever been, so THANK YOU for your prayers. WE thank you for your prayers. Our family has truly felt the tender mercies that root from your kind prayers.
I am so inspired by my Dad. He's a lot stronger and tougher than we give him credit for. He's really fighting. He's fighting through the pain, and fighting for his life. And he's already cracking jokes between the moans and groans. So we are happy.
He's doing great so far, the big thing now is to watch that his kidneys don't fail over the next few days so he won't need dialasys. They are hoping to get him sitting later this evening or early morning, and possibly walking the halls tomorrow afternoon.
Thanks again to everyone who has sent their love, to our great friends who helped watch the grandkids, and for the many prayers that have helped our family through this trial.
We'll keep ya posted!
-Lea
2:35pm
kinda funny.. we were eating lunch, waiting for the pager to go off, and every little sound mom heard (soda machine, cash register, etc) she thought was the pager. finally, beep-beep-beep-beep-beep. her eyes became big and wide, and she just stared blankly and asked, "what's that noise?"
=) oh, mom.
anyway, we made our way to the CVICU. We were nervous cuz we knew Dad wouldn't look too hot, but we were pleasantly surprised at how great he looked! He was hardly puffy, and he was just sleeping. Still intubated.
We knew Dad's #1 fear (even over dying) was to wake up in a panic, with the breathing tube down his throat. So we were nervous.
At that point, we just stood there and waited. Once he was awake enough to lift his head and take a breath on his own, they could take out the tube. Its kinda a double-edged sword. You want him to breathe on his own, but you don't want him coherent enough to realize he has tubes down his throat.
He woke up a couple times, shook his head in response, even grabbed mom's hand, but then he'd fall back asleep and relied on the machine to breathe for him. When he'd get closer to being awake and breathing on his own, he'd be in too much pain and required meds which would make him sleep. So it was a tricky balancing act for the doctor & nurse.
By the way, the staff is incredible. So thorough and patient.
=) oh, mom.
anyway, we made our way to the CVICU. We were nervous cuz we knew Dad wouldn't look too hot, but we were pleasantly surprised at how great he looked! He was hardly puffy, and he was just sleeping. Still intubated.
We knew Dad's #1 fear (even over dying) was to wake up in a panic, with the breathing tube down his throat. So we were nervous.
At that point, we just stood there and waited. Once he was awake enough to lift his head and take a breath on his own, they could take out the tube. Its kinda a double-edged sword. You want him to breathe on his own, but you don't want him coherent enough to realize he has tubes down his throat.
He woke up a couple times, shook his head in response, even grabbed mom's hand, but then he'd fall back asleep and relied on the machine to breathe for him. When he'd get closer to being awake and breathing on his own, he'd be in too much pain and required meds which would make him sleep. So it was a tricky balancing act for the doctor & nurse.
By the way, the staff is incredible. So thorough and patient.
12:25pm
He's off the bypass machine.
GREAT NEWS.
One of Dad's biggest fears, of course, is that his heart won't start again.
We just got filled in with some of the things to expect in the next couple hours and couple months.
Dad's #1 fear is the breathing tube.. We pray he won't remember when they take it out. Honestly, it sounds horrific.. the fact that they wait until he's awake to take it out.
Anyway, we're now waiting to hear from the Doc.
GREAT NEWS.
One of Dad's biggest fears, of course, is that his heart won't start again.
We just got filled in with some of the things to expect in the next couple hours and couple months.
Dad's #1 fear is the breathing tube.. We pray he won't remember when they take it out. Honestly, it sounds horrific.. the fact that they wait until he's awake to take it out.
Anyway, we're now waiting to hear from the Doc.
10:25am
he's on the bypass machine.
so far, so good.
its so CRAZY to me that they can do that..
right now, they're working on Dad's heart while he's his body is hooked up to a machine. Weird.
i marvel at modern medicine.
so far, so good.
its so CRAZY to me that they can do that..
right now, they're working on Dad's heart while he's his body is hooked up to a machine. Weird.
i marvel at modern medicine.
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