Recovery: Day 3

So last night I slept pretty well.  It turns out though, that while I was sleeping Andrew was awake for most of the night.  Andrew got a new nurse at 7 AM, and he found out really quick that he wasn’t going to be his favorite.  I was sleeping when the nurse first came in this morning so I didn’t know who it was.  First, while I was in the cafeteria getting breakfast, Andrew wasn’t feeling good so he asked the nurse if he could get some Zofran for the nausea.  The nurse tried both of Andrew’s IV’s and told him that they were shot and that they would have to get the life flight team to put in a new IV.  No life flight team ever came.  Then, Andrew found out around 11 AM that since he hadn’t gone to the bathroom since his catheter came out yesterday that he would have to have the catheter inserted again to empty his bladder.  (He did end up being able to go the bathroom on his own today, just so everyone knows).  Andrew’s aunt Janell came to visit so Janell and I waited outside as the procedure was being done.  While we were outside a guy came to Andrew’s door so I told him that he was in the middle of having his catheter put in.  He just said that he needed to talk to the CNA about something, and then went in.  It turns out that the CNA was just in the middle of putting the catheter in and that Andrew was very traumatized by the sudden interruption.  Andrew told him off for coming in so rudely and the nurse told him to “get over it.”  Andrew then told the CNA (who is great by the way) that he wanted a new nurse.  His CNA came out and told us that Andrew was upset, so we went in to find him red-faced and very aggravated.  He told us what happened and he also told us that he still hadn’t gotten any Zofran.  Eventually they just called in oral tabs so that he could the medication he needed.  He also got a new nurse.  From there things were much better and he didn’t feel like he was being neglected.  Throughout the day Andrew had tons of visitors including; Janell, my mom, dad and siblings, Andrew’s brother Kevin and three of his kids, my grandma and grandpa, Andrew’s friends Greg and Nickelle, and Andrew’s boss Mason with Rachel and his three kids.  It sure kept Andrew occupied and hopefully he will get some good sleep tonight.  For physical therapy today he tried out the forearm crutches, which he says he likes way better than the walker.  He was a little wobbly on them at first but he has gotten used to them and he says they are a lot better on his shoulders.  He walked around three different times and probably a total of 200-250 yards today.  He is getting stronger every day, and has a great attitude and drive for learning and doing anything he can here to make home a little easier.  Andrew’s biggest accomplishments today were that he learned how to get in and out of bed and how to go up and down the stairs.  He says that the stairs are harder than just plain walking, but that it is still pretty easy.  I think he is getting a little cabin fever and I have to admit that I am too.  He will probably get discharged tomorrow so that will be exciting, but he will get another session with the physical therapist as well as some forearm crutches to take home before we leave.  They gave him his Oxycodone and some Benadryl for a little rash on his back, so right now he is completely zonked.  Yay for sleep!  Wish us luck tomorrow on our adventure of breaking out of this joint and heading home. 

Today’s Accomplishments

-          Learned how to get in and out of bed

-          Learned to get up and down stairs

(I know I already said both of those, but he did great and was rewarded later with a donut)

-          Stuck up for himself and got a new nurse

-          He is constantly impressing his nurses and CNA’s with how well he is progressing

-          He makes sure that every day he is trying to learn as much as he can about how to make post-op life easier.

So I know I told you about how he likes to show everyone his incision.  This is from day 1, so not too much bruising, but he still wants everyone to be able to see it.  So once and for all here it is.  Not too bad right?