Just Before Surgery
The picture above is from right before the surgery. I have some pictures from right after the surgery but frankly I was afraid to send them to you all. When you see him in person it isn't as bad because you can watch his chest move from his heart beating and breathing. In the pictures, this is not evident and they really don't look pleasant.
I am trying to find the right words to explain the place where Thaddeus is. He is still in a critical possition, and yet we have had a lot of good news and much to be thankful for. The most critical time for him is the first 24 hours after surgery. Well, we have just surpassed that point. He is still on many different medications and fluids but they have started to decrease some of the amounts and even take him off some things. He is no longer on the drug that paralyzes him. He has not yet moved, but the drug does take awhile to get out of his system. Add to that the painkillers and sedatives and it isn't too suprising that he has not moved yet. The doctors are continually watching the numbers and are "tweaking" the drugs to keep balance.They are balancing the fluid that comes in vs the fluid that comes out. They are balancing the blood that goes to the body vs the blood that goes to the heart. They are balancing helping his heart constrict vs helping his vessles relax. They are balancing making it easier on his heart by helping him breathe vs getting him to breathe on his own. They are balancing explaining things to me vs helping out their other patients. Did I mention I ask a lot of questions? (That's how we learn, right kids?) As of right now, most all of his numbers are looking good and they are pleased with his progress so far. His pulse is a bit faster than they would like though, and they are working on slowing that down. He still warants a full time nurse just for him, but things are slowly moving up. They are hoping to close his chest tomorrow or Saturaday at the latest as long as nothing takes a turn for the worse.
So far we haven't really done a lot of looking forward. Once the chest is closed we will still be moving one step at a time. We will be working to reduce his various drugs little by little until he is down to a few essentials, like a blood thinner. Then we will work on learning how to monitor him, how to teach him to eat and so on. We have a lot to learn. Right now however, we are celebrating and thanking God for every hour and every milestone. (You woud NOT believe what an exciting thing urine is in the cardiac ICU.)
I am trying to find the right words to explain the place where Thaddeus is. He is still in a critical possition, and yet we have had a lot of good news and much to be thankful for. The most critical time for him is the first 24 hours after surgery. Well, we have just surpassed that point. He is still on many different medications and fluids but they have started to decrease some of the amounts and even take him off some things. He is no longer on the drug that paralyzes him. He has not yet moved, but the drug does take awhile to get out of his system. Add to that the painkillers and sedatives and it isn't too suprising that he has not moved yet. The doctors are continually watching the numbers and are "tweaking" the drugs to keep balance.They are balancing the fluid that comes in vs the fluid that comes out. They are balancing the blood that goes to the body vs the blood that goes to the heart. They are balancing helping his heart constrict vs helping his vessles relax. They are balancing making it easier on his heart by helping him breathe vs getting him to breathe on his own. They are balancing explaining things to me vs helping out their other patients. Did I mention I ask a lot of questions? (That's how we learn, right kids?) As of right now, most all of his numbers are looking good and they are pleased with his progress so far. His pulse is a bit faster than they would like though, and they are working on slowing that down. He still warants a full time nurse just for him, but things are slowly moving up. They are hoping to close his chest tomorrow or Saturaday at the latest as long as nothing takes a turn for the worse.
So far we haven't really done a lot of looking forward. Once the chest is closed we will still be moving one step at a time. We will be working to reduce his various drugs little by little until he is down to a few essentials, like a blood thinner. Then we will work on learning how to monitor him, how to teach him to eat and so on. We have a lot to learn. Right now however, we are celebrating and thanking God for every hour and every milestone. (You woud NOT believe what an exciting thing urine is in the cardiac ICU.)
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