Dad officially stepped-down from intensive care to general care sometime last night, which was very quick and demonstrated excellent progress. Happily, here in the cardiac rehab unit at UW, patients don't have to switch rooms when they change between levels of care, so this morning we found Dad right where we left him but with fewer tubes and much more natural color in his face.
Just like yesterday, we are able to see changes and improvements each hour. He just finished walking his 4th lap around the "fish bowl" today; he did 2 laps in a row, which is already double his first walk this morning.
Dad's definitely with it and present with us today, but he is also more aware of his pain. Coughing brings on the worst of it, but his pain at rest is manageable such that he has been able to take several good naps today while we work on crossword puzzles. He is willing to take pain meds (>tylenol) to stay ahead of the pain, which he definitely deserves after pushing himself on his walks and with his incentive spirometer. It hurts now, but all his efforts will be great for his recovery. His courage and resolve is so impressive!
We enjoyed a visit from Pastor Mark today, who agrees that Dad looks great for someone 24-hours past open heart surgery. Mark suggested that instead of focusing on the mirror, Dad should look at his reflection in the faces of his family members to see his progress... hopefully when he does that, he can see that Mom and Andrew and I are beaming! We are so proud of him. We continue to be grateful for all of the people who care for Dad and for our family.
Thank you to everyone!
Abby, Andrew, and Leslie
Just like yesterday, we are able to see changes and improvements each hour. He just finished walking his 4th lap around the "fish bowl" today; he did 2 laps in a row, which is already double his first walk this morning.
Dad's definitely with it and present with us today, but he is also more aware of his pain. Coughing brings on the worst of it, but his pain at rest is manageable such that he has been able to take several good naps today while we work on crossword puzzles. He is willing to take pain meds (>tylenol) to stay ahead of the pain, which he definitely deserves after pushing himself on his walks and with his incentive spirometer. It hurts now, but all his efforts will be great for his recovery. His courage and resolve is so impressive!
We enjoyed a visit from Pastor Mark today, who agrees that Dad looks great for someone 24-hours past open heart surgery. Mark suggested that instead of focusing on the mirror, Dad should look at his reflection in the faces of his family members to see his progress... hopefully when he does that, he can see that Mom and Andrew and I are beaming! We are so proud of him. We continue to be grateful for all of the people who care for Dad and for our family.
Thank you to everyone!
Abby, Andrew, and Leslie
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