Thursday

Morning report from Nancy:
I walked in this morning to see Dad sitting up and his breakfast plate COMPLETELY empty! He had even eaten the orange slice garnish! He didn't realize he had oatmeal so I doctored that up for him and he was 1/2 way through that when I left. I asked him if he licked the plate and he laughed.
But it looked like he did!

ICU Nurses Karen and Lindsay stopped in to check on him and that made his day! They are SO SO SO Sweet! He also looked a lot less puffy today. His face is almost back to normal. Hands and ankles are going down as well.

He looked GOOD this morning even though he said he didn't sleep all that well. I am encouraged again!

He said one thing he did want today was a shave and a bath AND he wanted to comb his hair. That is a good sign!

Prayers are being answered and he is getting stronger. I am so very thankful to our Heavenly Father today.

Nancy has been so faithful in getting there early to get Dad going and stopping by after work. Thanks Nan!

I debated whether to go by tonight because I was not sure if Charlotte's bug was catching. Her Dr. said that she just had a bad sinus infection and put her on antibiotics. She is feeling much better today.

Dad's countenance was very normal tonight. His energy level is not as robust as we are used to yet but his personality has returned to a more normal cadence.

He had several visitors and phone calls today. While it takes effort to talk, I think it has been good not only physically but keeping him busy and breaking up the institutional monotony.

Medically: the cultures on the infection came back today and they have fine tuned the antibiotic to take care of the particular strain. He is getting heparin to minimize the chance of blood clots. The gabapentin took care of his restless leg problem from last night. I don't know if he will get more lasex tonight, but he has been doing fine with out the foley and we are grateful for that. He continues to have some PT although I think he is ready for more. He has been sitting up in the chair for several hours at a time. He continues to perform his respiratory therapy hourly and is doing better and better.

It is hard to believe that it will be 2 weeks tomorrow that we began this saga. He told me tonight that we needed to start thinking about life after WRMC. I told him that I had started looking for options on the internet and wanted to visit some step down rehab locations and check out levels of care and PT. We will also be checking into in home care. He indicated that his goal was to be able to walk with a walker as soon as possible. I find this very promising on several levels.

Many of you have asked about Dad's prognosis. I am not sure how to answer that. It reminds me of the story of the man who went to the doctor and came home and his wife said, "How did it go?" The man replied, "I'm dying honey." Alarmed, she exclaimed, "What happened? What's the problem?" Nonchalantly, the man said, "It's nothing serious, I've been dying for years!"

These are the "facts" that the doctor explained to us and some Dad that explained to the doctor:
>Dad has and always will have atrial fibrillation. It's an irregular twitch in the atria. Many people live with arhythmias.
>Due to the previous heart attack and the occlusion of the coronary arteries Dad's heart is only beating at 20% efficiency and even with the bypass will not likely improve to any great extent, the heart muscle has been damaged. Not ideal but many people lead productive lives with less that 20%.
>Dad is 86 years old chronologically, but physically he is much younger because he has taken care of himself through a disciplined exercise routine and "clean living".
>Dad loves life and believes God uses us where ever we are in life.
>Finally and most importantly, Dad has, as he puts it, "God's best gift" to him, in Beverly. After 61 years, they are just getting to know each other.

The doctor's last assessment: he could die tonight with another V-tach or stroke. he doesn't think that will happen but can't rule it out; or he could live to be 96. In conclusion, he didn't say it, but he might as well have, God only, knows.

Jas.4
[14] whereas you do not know about tomorrow. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
[15] Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and we shall do this or that."

We may have glimpses of God's providence in retrospect, but even then we only see it as through a glass darkly. Our family has been blessed in the past 2 weeks to be wrapped in a blanket of His providential love and compassion. We have been saturated with precious, tender, even holy moments. We have been shown hospitality by strangers and thereby entertained angels unawares. We have been reminded that the temporal has no meaning in the vast realm of our Creator.

God is good!

P.S. Now you know why they call this a Blog...maybe Blahg would be better.
Blah, Blah, Blahg