Day Three at the Hospital

Markey had an interesting night. He was a little more lusid and talkative. He recieved a chest x-ray and then vomited. He developed a little fever. In the morning, he was checked and they decided to remove one of the drainage tubes. They gave him an oral and intraveinous seditive and when it took effect, we went to work. We had to remove the dressing for all three openings and then observed the open wounds. There was no ozing or puss. They quickly removed the middle tube and closed the suture. New dressing was applied. This went remarkably well. He was then moved out of bed to a chair sitting up. This needed to happen for alot of reasons. The chest x-ray showed fluid on and around the lungs. they need this fluid to drain out of the body. With the absence of fluid, this could keep the fevers down and away. Once most of the fluids are gone they can remove the drainage tubes. A heart echo was done while he was sitting up. HE TOOK HIS FIRST BITES TODAY! He ate a bite of a strawberry and a piece of lettuce with Italian dressing. He drank some apple juice. They are giving him anti-nausea medicine to help. He still has to stimulate his tummy to start digesting foods again. They removed his rectal probe for temperature. Yuck! The dietician came and set up Markey's menu. He will be on a med called coumadin. This is to prevent blood clotting. His diet will be for 6 months in stead of 1 month. The diet is the heart healthy diet (Lowfat and limited Sodium). They are now splitting the last drainage tubes to see if they can pull another one out tomorrow.

We used Mark's many stuffed "Lovies" to help him sit up.