We are so grateful for our prayer warriors! It’s astonishing what can happen in a day.
Tony had a much better night last night, even being disturbed every hour to check the blood flow. They put him on a little oxygen to give him a boost.
When the surgical team did their rounds this morning, the only concern I heard was regarding the crustiness in his mouth. Yesterday, I asked the nurse for a sponge stick, and Tony used it a few times in an attempt to clean and moisten his mouth. He is restricted from eating or drinking for three weeks. This morning they started a humidifier mask to help with the dry mouth.
The right leg where the bone was removed has had some weird sensations. As a result, I’ve been willing to give that big ol’ size 12 foot a frequent massage. The skin is tight on that leg from swelling and pulling the skin together after taking the graft. I can only imagine how much pain he must be in overall, and he only complains about that leg.
Today was exhausting. By 9 am, Physical Therapy had him up out of bed, walking, and into a chair where he spent the day. It was clear that he exceeded expectations. Mr. Charming is a rock star! He repeated the short walk twice more during the day with a nap in between.
At 10 am, Dr. McCrary came to see how Tony is doing. She was a little surprised to see how well the skin graft looked. She pricked it with a needle and it bled perfectly. She couldn’t hide her relief and excitement that her work yesterday was a success. She told us that she can’t tell us we are out of the woods yet, but it doesn’t look like the pectoral graft will be necessary. She indicated that it’s likely Tony will be moved from ICU to the hospital floor tomorrow morning.
A couple of young nurses came in with warmed bathing cloths, wiped him down, and changed his gown. He started getting bolus feeds through the feeding tube instead of a slow continuous drip. Tony’s blood sugar has spiked a few times, requiring an insulin shot. It’s likely a response to the trauma of surgery, but something that is being monitored closely. The liquid nutrition is extremely high in carbs with very little protein. The imbalance is disturbing to me.
During the afternoon and evening, all the tethers were gradually removed. First, the urinary catheter, then the arterial line. By 7 pm, the IV was capped and his last walk was without the pole in tow.
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