January 16
Wednesday 7 am. Also put this on fb but not everyone sees those posts....
Karissa was here with John during the difficult process of his awakening. What a blessing it was for her and for HIM! He was agitated and anxious and she was strong for him even though it was hard on her. The doctor had suggested we all go sleep but she wanted to stay. By midnight, she could no longer be in the room with him. She felt kinda exposed and insecure in this waiting room all alone so I came and got her and we stopped and saw him before we left. He gave us a huge smile of recognition and we got to talk some. The kids are still sleeping. I got a good 8 hours and feel better and more at peace this morning. Doctors, fellows, residents, nurses and techs are swarming around but they say John is amazing....I think so too! We are learning a lot. Thanks for the prayers that are circling the globe. Love you all and we will keep you posted!
Thank you, Aunt Kitty, for your call and concern...
Thanks, Kim and Karen and Julie, for your prayers from Oregon.
Too many to thank!
Becki
Karissa 1/16
Last night, I was able to watch my dad wake up slowly. Natasha and mom had to go sleep because they had been up for so long... so it was just me. Starting with just little movements, he became more and more alert. This was one of the hardest times to watch
Because he began to realize that he was in pain and that he had a huge tube down his throat, along with multiple other tubes, IVs, etc...which can cause a lot of anxiety. Its really hard to see any one like that, especially your dad. I just tried to keep talking to him and reassure him and he would attempt little smiles and squeeze my hand. After a couple of not so fun hours, he was successfully weaned off the ventilator and breathing by himself. I can't even describe what it's like to talk to someone again after an ordeal like this.... Very emotional. His mental status was incredibly on point considering that during open heart surgery, there is no blood flow to the brain for about 40 minutes so they essentially freeze the whole body. He said, "so when are they sending me to surgery?" having no idea he was done. :) Within a couple minutes he was already making jokes and just being my dad again. He kept saying "I'm so glad you're here." Today they will continue to monitor to him in the ICU because of all the aspects of his individual surgery. The doctor was surprised that he was doing so well and called him a "mystery"..... hmmmm ;) we aren't all the way out of the woods yet....but we will continue to expect good things. Thanks for all your prayers and thoughts... Love you guys.
Karissa 1/16
Just a little update: Dad made a significant amount of progress today. They took out his arterial lines and some other things, but his chest tubes and central line will remain in. Physical therapy came and he was able to walk around the loop once, which doesn't happen too often in the ICU. This afternoon, he was moved to a Cardiac Step-down unit and is resting. He is in quite a bit of pain so they are trying to keep that under control. For him, realizing the significance of the situation he was in was a process itself and can be overwhelming.... so today was a quiet day. I'm just glad he's here.
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