Friday, March 26, 2010

No real answers...yet!

Today was a pretty good day. Nate had half a serving of cornflakes this morning! Boy, was I pumped. But...then we gave him one of his meds and he threw it up. At least he did want to eat in the beginning!

He did great for his echo, ie. no sedation required. When the dr. came by on rounds he still hadn't seen the echo results. He said he'd stop by after he got them. He is being very careful in changing meds and trying to get on a regime that will work for when we go home. I've noticed that words that I keep hearing from him when he's talking about Nate are 'complex' and 'delicate'. That's pretty evident, as even very small changes in meds seem to snowball very quickly and become evident in other aspects of his health.

As far as time frame, we never get a straight answer, and rightly so, since everything really is day by day here. One clue he did give me is that the med he wants Nate to be on to reduce the inflammation around his heart, he'd want to give for 10 days, and we're on day 3. But then late in the afternoon the discharge nurse came to our room to go over discharge instructions just in case anything happened during the weekend or early next week, since she doesn't work on the weekends. Then she said we also shouldn't get our hopes up. But, boy, do I ever love the word discharge!! Sometimes what they do is discharge you from hospital, but ask you to stay in Edmonton for a few days so they can check up on things, other times they send you right home.

We never made contact with the dr. later in the day to go over how the echo went, so I'm not too sure where we're at! So we'll just keep doing what we're doing. Nate's been doing so much better - he has his moments as well, and is pretty selective and determined in what he does/does not eat. He had a quarter of a sandwich at lunch, but nothing really at supper. Today, he finally started enjoying a chocolate Ensure beverage, which the dietitian was hoping he'd take, so we know he's getting a few more nutrients. Towards the end of the evening, his cough started sounding wetter, with a bit more grunting; most likely from switching his Lasix from IV to oral. They are also concerned that he is only peeing from Lasix and not really on his own. Sorry it it's too much info., but it's actually kind of important!!


Today is my night to sleep at the hotel and I'm mostly looking forward to it! Nights in the hospital with Nate are pretty much what you'd expect them to be! Don is such a great dad and is taking the night shift today!



Here's a picture of one of the happiest I've seen Nate in the last few weeks.


2 comments:

Bonnie said...

It so great to see Nate smiling and looking like himself again!

And its so exciting to start thinking about the D word!! I am so thankful for all the cardiac professionals that are helping you get closer to that reality!

Bon Appetit Nate!

Heather said...

Love that smile!!