Day 3 - Post Surgery

Hello to all!

Today was another rollercoaster day! After a much too short night's sleep, I received a call from Jim's nurse. Evidently, he had had a very difficult night, and they wanted to move him back to ICU. I was just planning to grab a quick breakfast but ran over to the hospital instead. I got my workout running up the six flights of stairs! When I got there, he had a roomful of medical people tending to him. They were busy taking chest x-rays and, as you can see from the picture, they had put in a tube down his nose to drain the vomit and other secretions from his stomach to keep him from aspirating. Needless to say, I was pretty upset. He was so weak and exhausted that I was really worried about him having the strength to fight through this. They moved him down to ICU (he got his same room back) and I had to wait for about an hour while they got him settled in. That was difficult. I spent that time texting and making phone calls, which helped to pass the time and eventually settled me down (thanks, Dan and Sheila!). It was hard to tell the kids the bad news, but I was glad that they weren't with me to have to see him so fragile. When they called me in to see him, he seemed much more relaxed. They had put his catheter back in, and I was afraid that they were going to put him back on the respirator, but they chose not to do that as his oxygen level was good. His chest x-ray came back looking okay, so he just slept, and I crashed on the couch in his room.

When he woke up around 2:00pm, he definitely seemed improved. He was still tired and weak, but he was more alert and looked better. Dr. Spetzler popped in for about 10 seconds and didn't seem concerned. I asked him if this was more of a lung concern than brain, and he said, "yes". I know Jim went through this the last time, five years ago, but it's still scary in the reality of the moment. I felt much better as I realized that he wasn't going to need the respirator and that he was improving already. He's quite a warrior! The most important thing for his body to do right now is for him to get his cough and swallow and gag reflexes back so that he can protect his lungs. This should improve over time, along with his other motor skills, but I'll feel better as I see more progress and start skipping the backwards slides. Baby steps ... my new mantra!

As you can see, he felt good enough to be put into a chair. He was still pretty tired, but managed to sit up for almost 2 hours. While he was up, Dr. Spetzler came back in with a big smile on his face. He squeezed my shoulder (twice -- very unlike himself) and told us that "so far, so good" on the gentleman having the pipeline surgery. I was SO ecstatic! Jim's not much looking forward to any more procedures, but he'll be happy too once he realizes the magnitude of this option. I had to run down to the cafeteria before it closed to grab a quick dinner while they put Jimmy back to bed and missed seeing Dr. Fiorella; but he did leave me a voicemail. I could tell he was so excited! He thanked me for sending all the prayers (you can all pat yourselves on the back for that!) and said that the gentleman having surgery was so pleased to be able to potentially help Jim out. I really hope I get an opportunity to meet this 'mystery' gentleman
someday! The doctor said that the surgery went perfectly and that the patient was doing great. He also said that he would go ahead and get the approval process started now. So keep those prayers coming!

It was a lot more fun making phone calls and texting this evening and being able to share the good news. Jim wanted to call Bob Fields and sing 'Happy Birthday' to him during his nebulizer treatment, which I let him do. The funny part is that Bob was actually able to understand him -- amazing! I still don't think he's going to find that his voice improved any from this surgery, though ... not that that's ever stopped him from getting on stage and singing karaoke! Maybe he can use his sympathy card to get one of "his" bands to learn 'Sweet Caroline' for him to sing -- well, maybe not!

Because he was doing better and still very sleepy, I was able to come back a little earlier than usual tonight, so I am looking forward to a good night's sleep. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day all the way through. I'm missing Jim's silly jokes -- he's just a little too cooperative and sedate for my tastes. I'm much more comfortable dealing with him while he's being his usual pain-in-the-butt self. Although, he did tell me today that he's made a decision not to leave me and has decided I'm worth keeping around -- jerk! So, please pray for a good day for Jimmy tomorrow. Pray for his cough, gag, and swallow reflexes to get stronger, for this wonderful gentleman to continue to do well with his new pipeline device, and for Dr. Fiorella to be able to get the same surgery approved for Jim. We're one more day closer to a new and improved Jimmy!

Love to you all!
Krissy