SLOW RECOVERY

We were unable to pull Ron's chest tube yesterday and he was not able to get it out today either.
Quite a bit of fluid is still draining out which warrants keeping it in a bit longer. He is handling the discomfort a bit better now...but he wants it out as soon as possible...and I can't say that I blame him.

He is no longer on antibiotics.....all his anti-rejection drugs have been switched back to oral medications. His only remaining IV is his insulin and it looks like this will be stopped tonight and he will go back to his regular insulin injections before each meal.
They did remove his Foley ...so he can use the rest room on his own. .....aaahhhh...
However, he has not had much urine output. The kidney is not yet functioning. He has only had 50cc's of urine today vs...the 1000 he would have normally had by now.
He will be dialyzed later today as well as tomorrow. The doctors say they will give him a break on Sunday.

They started watching his caloric intake yesterday. They were worried he was not eating enough...so they were only going to give him 24 hours to pick up the pace. He has been drinking Ensure with added protein powder packets....yummmm....
I also add a small carton of milk to it because he says the ensure is too sweet.
His taste buds are a mess right now ...nothing tastes good to him right now so it is hard for him to have much of an appetite. I have been working with him to get him motivated to eat.

He was a bit "blue" today. He told his dietitian that he was very tired and sad. I was a bit surprised that he said this and I asked him to explain to me...he said it was so nice to get home and to have to be back here just bums him out so bad. He said it is so hard to find a "happy place" right now. I felt really bad for him. But, I told him he has been down longer and managed to find the strength to bounce back. He can do it again ...I have all the faith in the world in him to be able to do this. The physical therapists came by today and wanted to try and stand him up and set him in his wheel chair...but he just could not do it. He had no strength to try to stand and they did not want to push it. He was in atrial fibrillation again this morning....it happens after they give him his albuterol treatments...and so they did not want to over do it with him. He could not believe how weak he has become all over again. I just keep reassuring him it will all come back...sooner rather than later...I just know it. He is my energizer bunny.....he will keep going...I know he will.

Dr. Smith told us today she is keeping him in ICU until he starts taking a few steps. She is not releasing him to the regular floor because she knows the attention will be far more limited than in ICU. So as soon as he takes some steps out in the hallway...then he can be moved to the step down unit and ultimately home. The time frame will all depend on how well Ron progresses with everything. I can only hope he continues to find the will to fight back ...he beat pneumonia....so I hope he will continue with the progression of getting strong.

Hopefully, the kidney will bounce back soon. He has been getting dialysis ever since we arrived ...it worries me that his kidney function is next to nothing right now. I know it will be so disappointing to him if he has to go home getting dialysis again long term.

TGIF everyone....be safe all you Cinco De Mayo celebrators.