Day 5 - Post Bypass Surgery

I was able to take some pictures today. As you can see, Jimmy still has quite a shiner, but (believe it or not) the swelling has actually gone down considerably, and the right eye looks great. He's even able to close that right eye, which he hadn't been able to do since the first surgery, and he can sort of peek out of his left eye too. So things are definitely improving.

Jim surprised me by being much more alert when he was awake. He still slept away most of the day, but when he woke up, he would stay awake anywhere from a half hour to two hours -- considerably better than the very groggy 5 minutes I was getting yesterday!

As you can see by the bottom picture, Jimmy is showing off how much stronger he is getting. Even yesterday, he couldn't raise his left arm off the pillow. He's also able to move his fingers much more easily and is moving his legs considerably more than earlier this week. I would say that he is starting to turn the corner and has made good use of his time catching up on his sleep. He'll probably have his nights and days all mixed up before we go home again, but I don't even care right now.

Jimmy is still a little bit confused, but it seems to be different things that stump him up. I've

been told that this is common for anyone who has had a major surgery of any kind, let alone someone who has had their brain messed with -- twice! So, I'm not really concerned about it at this time. The big thing is that he is much less lethargic and seems to be on his way to catching back up to where he was prior to this last surgery. I am hopeful that he may be awake enough to possibly begin physical therapy tomorrow -- we'll have to see if the doctors will approve it or not.

From what I hear, it looks like the balloon angiogram/coiling is tentatively set to take place this Friday. It will depend on whether they feel he is responsive enough yet based on how he looks tomorrow. So I guess I will get the official word by the end of the day. That will be another very stressful day, but I am counting on a much more favorable outcome than the last balloon angio. I will let you all know the expected time so you can turn up the volume on your prayers during that period. I want to make sure that God can give Jimmy his full attention during that part!

So, today was a good day -- I like those best! We were in a bit of a stall for a few days, but I think it was really necessary for his body to recharge itself. Now he'll be ready to go on to the next step. I'm not sure what kind of recovery to expect from the coil that he WILL be having, as we have never been through this kind of procedure before. I'm assuming that it will be a little easier as it is considerably less invasive than open brain surgery. We will still need to pray for the avoidance of complications, but God is taking very good care of him so far. I have been amazed at the strength that Jimmy has shown and am SO proud of him! It is said that, "we take on the strength of that which we overcome." Well, with what Jim has overcome so far, I think we can start calling him 'Superman' -- even his brother, Bob, sent him a Superman t-shirt ... quite appropriate!

Tune in tomorrow night (or early Friday morning for you early-to-bed types) so that you can be ready to shout out your prayers if we need them on Friday! It's kind of interesting how all these events keep falling on Fridays, don't you think?? Anyway, sweet dreams (or good morning) -- I'll have more news tomorrow.

Love & Blessings,

Krissy