sunday afternoon update

Dan did just make a complete circle around the unit and walked faster and took longer steps. He is sleeping now. Our friend Chris who is in his surgery residency emailed a note to Dan: walk walk walk and use your incentive spirometer (device that helps you breathe more deeply) while in bed.
Here are Ashley's updates this afternoon:
sunday, january 10, 2010

Slow and steady wins the race
So, the surgeon allowed Dan to have clear liquids today. What? That wasn't supposed to happen until day 4 or 5. Dan was thrilled to be able to drink some water, but quickly discovered that ice water has the tendency to make your stomach cramp up. Bummer. He's taking things very slowly where food is concerned.
I spoke to the nurse a short time ago and Dan's labs seem to be holding steady. No great improvement, but no discouraging trends either. We'll need to see how tonight and tomorrow morning's labs look to make sure everything is alright.
It seems as though Dan's fever is back, but no one seems very worried about it. Apparently, younger patients with this surgery get fevers frequently. Just makes Dan miserable.
Oh, and the nurse and housekeeper are trying to find me a sleeper chair. It would be lovely!

Prayer Requests:
* Fever and cramping go away
* Labs continue to improve or stabilize
* No more complications (bleeding, infections, etc)
* Endurance for Dan to keep moving

Bleeding?
A day with Dan in the hospital wouldn't be the same without some kind of worrisome problem.

Though Dan says he feels much better than yesterday, the surgeon does not seem to believe him. Additionally, some of Dan's labs are troubling. His liver function is not as good as the surgeon would have expected with this type of surgery. McGreeky was especially concerned about his hematocrit (a blood measurement), as it dropped from 35.3 to 27.5 since yesterday. This drop can be a sign of bleeding and has the docs and nurses on alert. There are no signs of external bleeding, so the concern would be internal bleeding in the surgical site. Accordingly, poor Dan is being bothered by all kinds of check-up questions to monitor for symptoms.

I'm anxiously awaiting the "noon" labs ordered by the surgeon, though he forgot to put the orders in so they might be "afternoon" labs. Please pray that Dan's levels stabilize and that there is NO internal bleeding. This would be a bad complication that set him back significantly.
Other than those concerns, Dan is doing well. Went for a walk, got cleaned up and is using his PCA far less than he was. Those things are very encouraging.

Prayer Requests:
* Blood levels stabilize AND no internal bleeding
* Pain remains under control with less medication
* Surgeon gains confidence in Dan's recovery
* Liver function begins to improve
* Dan remains confident and his endurance remains good

pray without ceasing