Thursday, February 11, 2010

Continued improvement


I didn't realize the blog never got updated Wednesday afternoon........the 2-3 hours of sleep I got between Tuesday and Wednesday made me think even less clearly than usual. So here goes:
The breathing tube was pulled mid-afternoon Wednesday, and we were greated with a hoarse "Hi" from Bob when we returned to his room! Of course he was very thirsty, so Leslie had the honor of donning gloves ( for sanitation purposes) and feeding him bits of ice chips. He encouraged her by imitating a baby bird, opening his mouth as soon as he finished the previous piece of ice. He thinks UCSF has the best ice in the world!

His pain meds have been slowly decreased, and of course with that, he's feeling more pain from this huge surgery. By last evening before I left, he was definitely hurting when he had to take deep breaths, but that's what he's being instructed to do. They are also decreasing the heart meds little by little, as the new heart continues to show it's strong and steady. So amazing to see the strong heartbeat just looking at his bare chest!

When I left last evening around 6:30, his dinner tray was waiting - clear liquids, of course, but the nurse told me in honor of his past career as a hospital food service director, the broth was the gourmet version, not the usual! Wonder what the difference was? I will ask today when I return.

Before I went to sleep last night ( ie passed out) I called his nurse to get an update. She was telling me all was as expected, then said he wanted to talk to me himself! Never expected to be having a phone conversation less than 24 hours after the transplant. His main message, besides that it hurt to take deep breaths, was that he loved having the family around him all day Wednesday, especially our wonderful kids, great son-in-law and future daughter-in-law. Talk about getting to know the inlaws......they really came through, braving the post-op views of Bob and all the scary ICU set-up. We agreed for the millionth time, we are so lucky!

Today will be much quieter for him, which is probably what's needed. I will be heading back to the hospital soon, and will get back into the caregiver mode now that the big cheerleading efforts can take a back seat. Not sure if I will drag my old laptop with me today, so there may not be an update until evening. Just assume no news is no news! Thanks as always for all the encouragement and support from near and far.
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RJ/Bob/Irv is a 61-year-old beloved husband, father, uncle, brother, motor racing fanatic, and Livermore resident who received a heart and kidney transplant in February of 2010. Bob's recent years have been defined by his health, which forced him into early retirement. Unfortunately, many of his days were spent in a dialysis center or at various medical appointments, primarily due to his living with diabetes for over 40 years. Numerous were panic visits to various Emergency Rooms all over California for treatment of chest pain. But now no more dialysis and no more late-night dashes to UCSF! The main focus of Bob's family, friends, and doctors has been a prompt transplant, so that he can get back to traveling with his Sweetie, driving fast cars, enjoying great music and laughing with his friends. This blog will function as a way to communicate with all interested parties and to keep everyone informed. And hopefully it can serve a great purpose also, in making people more aware of the importance of organ donation and how each life saved has a positive effect on dozens of related friends and relatives.