Vertical & Ready to Cruise with the PT's

Monday, February 16: Kelsey has Winter break so no school today. Dad's steak and eggs slurpie was stopped this morning for procedures later today. Physical Therapy came in and had Dad sitting on the edge of his bed! He let out of a couple of really good belches. That had to feel good! Of course he was woozy from being vertical and from having Xanax 2 hours earlier. They had him wiggle his toes, kick his feet out, and put his feet flat on the floor. I think he liked having his feet meet the floor! He was wobbly and gripping the rail of the bed himself, but he would sometimes close his eyes. He didn't seem ready to lay back down after 10 minutes, but the two petite PT's managed to settle him back into a comfortable position. Just as they were swinging his feet back into bed at 10:00am, in walks Mom. I told her she missed all the action :( She was excited that he had been able to sit up. It was great to see his blood pressure improve when they sat him up.

After I left at 11:00am, Radiology came in the room to do an Ultra Sound of his arm. He then went downstairs for a CT Scan. Nurse John started his dialysis this afternoon. He had a difficult time keeping Dad's blood pressure up. John is always ready with Albumin. His dialysis was done about 9:00pm.

Kelsey spent the afternoon at Amanda's until POMS practice. We met Kelsey after practice, at Steak 'N Shake in Grandville for supper. The youth group at our church was having a fund-raising event. Dave and I both agreed we liked a Wendy's burger better. We rarely eat at hamburger places. Kelsey had chicken. We would definitely enjoy a fund-raiser at Carlo's O'Kelley's Mexican Restaurant or Subway! Kelsey and friend Abby spent the night at Elizabeth's house.

When I got here John was still finishing up with the machines. Dad's BP leveled off. Dad was a busy man today so he is tired. They started him on a Heparin (blood thinner) drip for the clot in his arm.

Tuesday, February 17: I left about 10:00am. I got all the way to the ER parking ramp and realized I had left my phone in the closet. When I got back up to the room PT was in working with Dad again. He sat up on the edge of the bed for about 10 minutes. His Respiratory Tech Theresa, that had exclaimed last week that he was alert, was back from a few days off. She popped in as he was sitting up, "Wow, Louie, look at you!" PT continued to work his legs and arms once he was laying back down. Dad's Renal docs decided no dialysis today, but they are going to juice him up with 2 units of blood. The Ultra Sound from yesterday identified 3 clots in Dad's right arm and the doctors think this could be causing the fever. Honestly, Mom and I feel like we are on an episode of 'Mystery Diagnosis'! This is day 29 in the hospital, only 4 have not been in ICU!

Kelsey is still on Winter Break today so she went to RiverTown Crossings with her friends. She needed a nap at home before meeting back at school for team dinner.

When Radiology came in to do the TEE to Dad's heart, Mom came to our house and we soaked in the hot tub for a few minutes. She was gone for about an hour. The TEE went well and everything looked good. It was a simple dinner of spaghetti but it made Courtney happy. She was off to her evening class downtown then to Swing Dancing. Dave and I went to the Calvin game against Allendale. Kelsey danced in POMS tonight at half time. Kelsey was going to Rainbow Grill with friends and Dave was going home to meet the couch. I arrived for the night shift about 9:30pm. Mom called when she got home and said the roads were good until she hit M-44 and it was icy and was blowing sleet all the way to Belding. Courtney got here about 11:00pm, but Grampa was having his bath. We grabbed munchies from the closet and kept each other entertained in the family lounge until midnight. She was excited when we heard her friend John's name called over the intercom. She checked facebook and said, "Yep, he's working." He works in the lab. Once we got back into the room she stayed for about 30 more minutes. I told her she was looking tired and should go home. Dad was resting comfortably so I walked her out to her car. She dropped me back at the ER door.

Strengthen the feeble hands,

steady the knees that give way;
say to those with fearful hearts,

be strong, do not fear...Isaiah 35:3-4a