The Second Wind

June 15

What a difference a day makes... As usual, it took 24 hours to go from purgatory/hell to paradise. Andrés has his big ole smile back (how I missed it!), is actually eating (well, technically drinking) blended foods, not just clear fluids, and he is one tube away from being wireless, the last of which will likely be removed before I see him later today for the “night shift”.

My back is killing me from sleeping with one eye open, sitting on a chair with my legs resting on his bed, but it’s been well worth it just to get him through the first few difficult nights. No longer on IV fluids, he is sipping water and ginger tea, had some sort of porridge this morning for breakfast and could technically even eat ice cream... he just doesn’t want any (and that is a BIG surprise to anyone who knows him!). His appetite will return eventually. The important thing now is that the little nutrition he is getting at present (I made him chicken broth from scratch and made sure to include many nutritious veggies in the broth) has given him back his spark and his desire to get the hell out of the hospital. He’s willing to do whatever it takes, including ingesting food, which he didn’t want to do I think mostly out of fear of digestive consequences, until last night when he expressed his frustration at the number of tubes and pumps he had to lug around on his walks. He said he wanted the IV out; I told him no one would pull that one out unless he was drinking. So he snapped out of it and started to drink, YEY! And soon enough, the soup had made his cheeks rosy and he was more upbeat and so he wanted to drink some more. At first, when I gave him water he couldn’t take more than a sip an hour, and only because I made him do it. But slowly, he was drinking more on his own and that made the doctor decide to take out the IV.

Since he’s having no pain from the incision, they’ve also taken out the epidural completely, which means the catheter foley can also come out today. All that’s left is the JP, which he may even come home with. I’m (we’re) hoping for a Wednesday discharge. However, we are well aware that his tolerance to a solid diet is crucial for them to discharge him. So keep thinking about him as he transitions from liquids to solids tomorrow (most likely).

I was so pumped with his energy this morning that I didn’t think I’d need to nap today, but now my eyelids are getting heavier by the minute, so I think a shower and a nap will definitely be in order after all. With that, I bid thee all farewell for now. More news tomorrow. Stay tuned!