Saturday - 12/13/2014

Saturday - 12/13/2014

Posted Dec 13, 2014 12:59pm

With this surgery and recovery, there will be peaks and valleys. We accomplished a lot yesterday. Joe got up and walked the entire 6th floor surgery ward three times. He got up every time he needed to use the bathroom. He was able to put clothes on instead of the hospital gown. He is eating and he is not nauseous. The doctor said if he used to eat 2000 calories a day, he will need to eat 3000 calories a day for the full 6 months. He said it takes a lot of energy to grow bone.

Yesterday a hospital dog came by the room, but it was at the same time as physical therapy so he only got to basically see the dog and that was it. So we are hoping they bring a pet by again. Right after that and as Joe was walking the floor the FBI choir came through our floor and they were caroling. They are actually from the FBI. They left all the children a FBI ballcap.

We have had excellent care. The nurses and Clinical Assistants typically work 3 - 12 hour days in a row so we are working with new nurses last night and today as three days have gone by.

Joe was in a lot of pain through the night. He had a fever at one point, but it is gone. His lung capacity decreased and he was put back on oxygen. They gave him a shot of the morphine type medicine at 9pm last night (the medicine that had been in the pain pump.) They don't want to give that too often because all the narcotics work against the lungs capacity. So as painful as it is, we need to get up and walk or sit as much as possible today. Right now that is very painful and they are trying different chairs for him to sit in. If you just lay flat it flattens your lungs or something like that. And that is not good. We do NOT want pheumonia.

Seriously though he is so dang tall that for him to sit in a regular chair is a long way down to go. #tallpeopleproblems Hopefully today we will be able to have enough good moments that we can measure him and see how much he grew AND he's not done growing as his growth plates are not closed yet.

I am typing this from a desktop on the 6th floor by the laundry room. I'll try to post some photos from my phone when I go back to his room. Teresa is on her plane and headed back to Ohio so it is Jessica and I here with Joe. The plan is still Monday morning discharge.

I'll update again as we have time. Thanks again for the prayers. Patty

PS. Today for his room service breakfast I ordered him a Belgian waffle with a side of scrambled eggs. What he received was a bottle of water with two butters and two syrups and his scrambled eggs. Water/waffle . hmm. It worked out because Jessica had gone downstairs to order herself some pancakes. She asked for an order of pancakes but she only wanted 2 pancakes. So they gave her two orders of pancakes. lol. So Joe had pancakes.