My Mom and I saw Dad last night for a couple hours. He’s getting stronger, and I can definitely see improvement from my last visit on Tuesday. Vitals aside, he simply looks better. All positive trends are continuing.
But he’s still pretty groggy for the most part. Nurses say that he shows flashes of personality and humor throughout the day (particularly in the morning when, I presume, he’s strongest). They enjoy his sass, or so they say, since most ICU patients are in no condition to interact with anyone, let alone make jokes.
Given the way the respiratory thing is going, he’ll probably be in ICU several more days. He’s on Lasics to try to remove fluid from his lungs and reduce some of the swelling in his limbs. They’re doing some electrolyte replacement along with that. So far as I know everything goes well.
I will add that it’s difficult to visit and not see chipper, jovial Eddie. We are eager—over eager, obviously—for him to return to form. For the most part right now visits consist of telling him very basic things about what’s going on in life, avoiding any unpleasant news, and seeing if he wants water. When you’re talking with him, you can tell if you’ve said something worrisome or confusing because he’ll furrow his brow in concentration. Presently, he’s got a terrible poker face.
I can’t imagine what it’s like to go through what he’s going through, but Mom can, having survived a liver transplant some 18 years ago as well as her own emergency surgery and trip through Intensive Care within the last 90 days. I’ve been remarkably impressed with how well she’s dealt with everything. At this juncture, I’d say we’re all doing as well as one could expect. Except for Mom, about whom I’d say she is doing better than one could expect.
I continue to be grateful.