Mother’s taking a short nap and I’ll take her back up to the hospital in a few minutes. My sister Terry is staying with dad right now. She’ll then be able to go back home. The Internist told us this morning that they were working on getting him in a position to go into physical therapy so he can relearn what he has lost and get enough strength to be able to care for himself.

The physical therapist also came over this morning to do an assessment. After that dad was pretty down. He wasn’t able to do very much that the therapist was asking. The doctor said that being depressed is common following a stroke. The brain has suffered some damage and the chemistry up there is not normal. They’ll give him some medication for that as well. As things currently look, I expect that by the end of the week he’ll be released to the nursing home in Soda Springs for physical therapy until he can walk reasonably well and can get around without falling. Then he’ll be able to go home. For him right now the future looks pretty bleak. I don’t think so … and hopefully as therapy progresses he’ll figure that out as well.

Dad is actually being very good (for him). A little while ago he burst out with “I’m not going to break any rules!” When I asked him what brought that on, he replied, “They’ve got my life in their hands.”

We’ve learned a couple of interesting things. For instance, he cannot have all four sides to his bed up at the same time unless a doctor allows “restraint” be used. Apparently, all four up at the same time means he’s “restrained” and that has to be reported to the government. The four sides are two at the top (chest and head area, right and left sides of the bed) and two at the bottom (waist, legs, and feet, right and left sides of the bed). Dad thrashes around so much when he’s sleeping that he can move himself right out of the bed if the sides are not up. But, since he generally moves to his right rather than to the left, the bottom left side of the bed is “open” so that he isn’t considered to be “restrained.” Maybe tomorrow I’ll remember to take a picture!

According to the doctor he did indeed have a stroke. The cardiologist said that his very weak heart is what is causing the atrial fibrillation (see the link for some interesting information). The gall bladder surgery required them to reduce the coumedin levels in his blood so he wouldn’t bleed to death on the operating table. That combination is probably what led to his heart throwing a clot and causing the stroke. The damage right now seems to be fairly limited (or as the doctor said, he has “limited deficits”).

The cardiologists had planned to do another cardioversion in a few days. Tonight the cardiologist said that procedure will not be performed. His atrail fibrillation will now be with him for life and what little control they can exercise over it with drugs will have to do.

So, for now he’ll be in the hospital for “a few more days.” I suspect that means at least for the rest of this week. But, he is improving. He’s smiling, can laugh at jokes, and is “not breaking any rules.” He had a lot of visitors today which he seemed to enjoy. I’m a little more optimistic today.

Happy New Year! (Rabbit Rabbit)

I went home from the hospital last night quite discouraged. Dad’s condition had deteriorated. He had a lot of difficulty with the right side of his body and he couldn’t get anything out except gibberish. This morning, however, he is much better. His speech is clear and correct. He still has some weakness in the right side, but much less than yesterday. He spent some time this morning reading the sports section of the newspaper, but that turned out to be frustrating for him because the print is too small and the paper too difficult to handle in bed. The doctor has not made her rounds here yet today and that should provide some additional informtion. At any rate, he will not be getting out of the hospital today for sure and likely not tomorrow either. He’ll need to have a physical evaluation to determine what physical therapy he needs in order to be able to go home. And that’s all dependent on no having another incident.

Meanwhile, another year is rapidly coming to an end. Nina and I don’t do much celebrating on New Years Eve and this year will be no exception. We’ll spend most of our time at the hospital, I expect. But, it’s been a pretty good 2006. I’ve no reason to suspect 2007 will be any different.

My sister Terry is here at the hospital today as well. A few minutes ago her daughter Amy along with husband and sons came up to visit for a few minutes. So, I stepped out of the room so I could post this update while they are visiting. Nina will be here in about an hour. I think we know what we’ll be doing for the rest of the day!

Dad was finally released sometime this afternoon. They had to wait all morning for one of the doctors to come by and sign the release papers and then wait and wait again for the hospital and the nurses to do their thing. Nina has spent the entire day on this discharge! It’s about 5 p.m. and she’s on her way back from Soda Springs. We’ll meet at Applebee’s for dinner and then come home for the night. It’s good to have dad back home where things will hopefully get back to normal.

As far as the surgery is concerned, dad is cleared for discharge. The surgeon was very pleased with how things were going and dad’s recovery. However, the cardiologists are wanting to get some of the heart issues better under control. There’s still some signs of pneumonia that they’d like to clear up. So, he’s still in ICU hooked up to all the monitors and IV’s. He’s been out of bed a few times which has really tired him out. Tonight he’s supposed to get out of bed and sit in a chair to eat his dinner. I brought mother home from the hospital for our dinner and we’ll head back to the hospital in a few minutes. She’s hoping to meet up with the cardiologist tonight if at all possible.

Meanwhile, dad looks very good — better than he has for quite a while. He’d like to get out of there, but the rest is doing him good.

Mother and I have just come home from the hospital. Dad is doing very well. He’s sleeping and still working his way out from the anesthesia. The nurses can wake him up and he’s responsive but wants to go back to sleep. His color is great. Heart rate, respiration, and oxygen levels are excellent. They nurse said that his heart and lungs sound strong, she’s getting “good noises” from his abdomen, and he’s “putting out good urine.” So, everything is looking as it should. Thanks everyone for your thoughts, faith, and prayers.

The surgeon came into the waiting room at 5:01 p.m. to tell us that the surgery had gone very well. He said the gall bladder was quite large and full of stones. Shortly after that dad was taken back to his room where he’ll sleep off the anesthesia. We’ve taken that opportunity to come home and have dinner. Mother and I are headed back to the hospital where we’ll stay for a couple of hours. According to the doctor, if everything continues as it is, dad will be able to go home tomorrow. We are very grateful!

It must be because of the holidays and things aren’t very busy? The Operating Room was running on schedule today. Dad went in right on time. The procedure will take an hour and a half if all goes well. Otherwise, who knows how long it’ll take?