Update

Well, a week after surgery, and Dad is still in the Critical Care Unit at St. Thomas Hospital. The surgery went alot longer than expected so he was under for about 10 hours or so. He finally came out of the anesthesia completely about Monday afternoon. They were keeping him sedated thoughout and as the days went by the amount that they were having to administer was getting higher to keep him calm.

Tuesday morning was a shocker though. He was off sedation, awake, sitting up, eyes open and more or less alert enough to follow commands and answer questions. He is still on the ventilation tube and will be until they can figure out whether his apnea can be regulated with something else. He is breathing on his own, and has been for most of the week, the vent is just helping a little bit, but now that he is more conscience, his apnea is worse.

His incisions are healing nicely and the bruising on his leg is almost gone. He looks so good, just really tired and slightly confused.

Mom and Will came down yesterday to see him and I think he was glad to see them. The Neuro doctor got us and showed us the second CT scan that they took on Monday. He said that it is impossible to tell which parts are just swelling and which parts are effected because they all show up the same at this point, an MRI would tell them more when they are able to get one done, but he has had 8 or 9 small to medium strokes that are all over the brain. Most are on the right side, but they are scattered thoughout the entire brain. Right now it is hard to determine how he is really affected because of the vent tube, and the lack of more tests. He does feel that all this is reversable, it will just take along time.

Mom and Will came back down today with Mom staying and I came home to rest up. I had been down there since Saturday, and even though I slept pretty well every night, I was ready for a nap when I got home. Patsy thought she may come home if they pulled the vent tube, but when they decided that he wasn't ready, she said she was staying. It is really helpful to have her there. She is a calm person, and having been an RN she knows what questions to ask and how to interpret what they tell us.

On another note:

Amber turns 18 tomorrow. My daughter will be an adult. She is really getting excited about starting school at WKU next month. She has decided that the dorm is the place to be and has her dorm assignment and has been conversing with her roomie, Amanda, via email. They have 3 classes together and seem to have alot in common. I am glad for her, and I hope that she will let me take her shopping soon for stuff for her dorm room.

Yesterday all 3 girls went to BG to the movies. Amber took them to see Harry Potter 5 and Rattatoille, Pizza Hut for dinner and the Mall. They didn't get home until about 9 p.m. They had a good time I guess.

I think that since it is almost 9, and I am a little beat, I am headed to bed!