Fran saw Doug again at 7 last night and then 8 before calling it a night. Doug was sleepy and more responsive by 8 but still very out of it. They had removed the breathing tube by that time though. Apparently around midnight they had him standing up for a moment.
This morning when Fran got there around 7:30 Doug was sitting in a chair more alert and breakfast was served. After breakfast, the nurse practitioner for Dr. Dewan showed up and examined him. His BP is a little low so they are giving him calcium to increase it slightly before removing most of the tubes this afternoon. At that point he will be expected to stand and talk a short walk; he is anxious to do this of course.
A bit later in the morning an EKG was done and Dr. Dewan dropped by – called him a “model” patient and said how well he was recovering. Before lunch the stomach tubes were taken out as well as the catheter, left arm tube, oxygen through the nose, oxygen monitor on the finger and the dressing was changed.
At 11:30 – just over 20 hours after surgery, Doug was up and took his first walk and went more than twice the distance expected before feeling tired.
At 2pm he walked to his new room out of ICU – just down the hall. He is in good spirits but beginning to feel the pain more now that those IV meds are over and he just gets pain killers. He has gained ten pounds in water weight from the surgery. This is normal.
It is quieter in this new room and Fran could sleep in the room with Doug but since she’s just parked in the parking lot, she opted not to. The bed in the room is just one of those chair beds where the cushions pull out into a narrow bed. Tigger is more comfortable and there are not the interruptions of a hospital room.
Fran does get one free meal a day while with Doug which is kinda nice and right next to the hospital is a small upscale shopping mall with a gourmet type grocery store that has a wonderful salad bar and lots of healthy options. There is also a walking loop behind the hospital and mall which helps Fran keep up her walking outdoors.
