December 17, 2011, 10 days post-op

Good morning everyone,

Sorry I've been derelict in the blogging department, but the days are passing in a blur. I seem to be spending lots of time on the phone trying to manage Bobs' and my Moms' care. My Mom was d/c'd from the hospital on Wed. and is currently staying at my brothers with visiting nurses and PT coming in. I hope to have her here with me next week, as Bob is improving daily. He stayed upstairs until yesterday, since the stairs did him in the first night home. Between his knees and SOB(shortness of breath), it would have been too much. But he came downstairs yesterday and it wasn't as bad as Monday, so I think he'll be back down today. He's also showered and shaved a couple times now, and his stamina is definitely improving. And his appetite is doing the same. My cousins stopped in last night with a smorgasbord of goodies(2 different soups, Chinese dishes, fried chicken etc.) that he really enjoyed, and gave me a break from kitchen duty, so a big thank you to John & Connie for that. Bobs' pain is well-controlled with percocet and a heating pad (the worst of the pain is muscular due to the positioning of his arm during surgery) and he is sleeping through the night now, so I am too! He wears the oxygen continuously, but just at 2lpm. I wish I had a pulse ox here to check his sat (you can take the nurse out of ICU etc.) after activity and on room air. But that will all be done in time. The fellow who set up the O2 said in his experience the O2 usually is needed for a month or so. Time will tell. In the meantime, I have cotton balls stuffed under the cannula since his skin started to break down on his ears already!! What do people do who wear O2 all the time? Oh, and he also had a little nosebleed from the dryness too. Small matters we can deal with, all things considered.

So before I write another cliche, I'll sign off. I hope you are all getting your holiday chores and errands ticked off your lists. In a way, it's kinda nice to have that pressure off and say "what gets done, gets done. Can't worry about it this year".  And, as has happened so often through Bobs' illnesses, it puts things in perspective. He is home and here with me, as will be my Mom, and that's all that matters. Try not to sweat the small stuff! Our thanks as always for the prayers and well-wishes. Keep 'em coming, please! Oh! and another big thank you to Mrs A., the cook and deliverer of the chicken livers. Bob was swooning....you are too good to us!

All our love,
Bob and Mo