Tuesday 7/19/11

Jon didn't have a great night last night. He had some stomach pain that kept him awake until 3:00 am. He said all he wanted to do was curl up in a ball, but he couldn't. He finally fell asleep and was able to rest for a little while before they took him to get a CT scan and another chest x ray in the morning. Once he returned to his room, he was able to sleep comfortably for the rest of the morning.

When we arrived around 1:15, he looked comfy and told us all about his morning: his Boost for breakfast, the scans, the doctor visits, and his night. He also told us he was visited by the "good looking" nutritionist who came to explain all the different smoothie and shake options they had to offer and marked the ones that would be most beneficial for Jon and what his body is going through. After we settled in, he asked us to order him some food. He already had his mind made up. He wanted the Biocare frozen drink (lactose-free, partially-frozen drink made with Italian ice or frozen fruit, ginger ale, and whey (milk) protein.). He just needed to hear the flavors and chose strawberry. I tried his drink; it was pretty good! He also wanted blueberry yogurt with granola. I mixed his yogurt and granola together, and he began to eat it. He was slightly upset because the granola had raisins in it, and he didn't want to have to pick them out of his teeth. He finished the yogurt and then laid back down again. 

He rested for about another hour, and then the nurse said she would like to see him try to get up and walk. After the pain meds took effect, he decided it was time to walk. The nurse knew he was uncomfortable moving, so she said that even if he could just move to the chair it would be better. He sat up and asked us, "Can someone follow me with a wheelchair, just in case I get light headed?" The nurse said that if he did decide to walk, she wanted to walk with him. As he stood up, he told me, "I don't think I am going to make it very far," but before we could find the nurse Jon was off, sprinting down the hallway. Mrs. Sue followed right behind with a wheelchair. The nurse finally caught up to us about halfway through. She was very pleased to see how well he was doing. He completed a FULL lap!

After he finished showing everyone how determined he can be, he was very tired. He made it back to his room and slid back into bed carefully. After he laid down for a few minutes, we noticed him with his eyes closed looking angry. I asked him what was wrong, and he said the tube was bothering him, and he wanted more pain meds. I was able to find the nurse who brought more medicine and had him feeling much much better.  Soon he was asleep. You will be happy to know he was taking pretty deep breaths while sleeping!  :)

After a while, the doctors made their rounds, and our room FILLED up with 6 people: a doctor, the fellows, and our nurse. The doctor started off by saying that his chest x rays looked good. His lungs are fully expanded! They are also able to see more of what is going on, which is a thickening on the base of the lung. Right now, the doctors are waiting for the thoracic surgeon to schedule a procedure called Pleurodesis which will hopefully stop the fluid from forming. Dr. Sherry is hoping that they will be able to fit him in this week to get things moving. Until we hear when the surgery will be scheduled, Jon will continue draining. 

This evening, he had a pretty high fever that they are monitoring, but now it has started to slowly come down. He is not in much pain right now--just uncomfortable because of the fever.

I will try to have another post tomorrow evening--unless we have surgery news. If that happens. I will post as soon as I find out!