Day 26
Yesterday afternoon, he asked me to come over to him and said, "I have some questions about the second surgery." Amazing! "What was the purpose of that surgery?" he asked So I told him it was to check for infection, to wash out the wound, and to culture the chest cavity. Visually, they seemed to think the incision infection was only subcutaneous and had to wait for the culture report. I explained that all the cultures came back positive, indicating a massive chest infection. "Where did the infection come from?" I told him it really isn't clear but it may have been a nosocomial or hospital-induced infection. The bug is Pseudomonas and most of these are nosocomial. Then he asked about his third surgery. Oh, wow...he DOES know! So I had to explain how extensive it was, that they had to reopen his chest, now for the third time, AND open his abdomen. I asked if he knew about that incision and he said no though before-hand, he had told me he had seen his whole body and it reminded him of how Jesus had been wounded.
I explained how they had taken some of his abdominal muscle and some omentum and placed it around his chest cavity to help fight the infection. He was amazed at what they had done to him and I had to say, "They were saving your life." All this is a lot for him to fathom. I also told him how difficult those next five days were and how there was no good news until that Friday. Interesting!
He's been smiling more and even said "I'm sorry" when he did something not so nice. He did ask why we had been so hard on him. So I had to explain that we were just trying to get him to fight. He said that was hard on him at times and sort of defeated his spirits. I explained that he did ask me to push him and that I was trying to do what he had asked.
One more eye-opened happened just at bedtime when they came in to weigh him, as they do each night. The scale read 140. He said, "It used to be 184." So he realizes what he has lost. This is hard for me and left me feeling sad all evening.
I am so glad you are blogging all this. It is a good outlet and many of us want to know. We are praying and this is a big part of our lives right now also as we lift all of you up in prayer. I am glad you are being healthy about this, getting help, getting out some, etc. I remember the first time I left the ICU area. I had lived DAYS in a tiny part of the hospital. The first time I walked down the hall, it was like I was entering a new world. I almost had a panic attack when I left the hospital the first time. I thought, how can I leave my daddy. My heart really goes out to you. As all this is happening, my step-mom has now had a heart attack this week, and just had a triple bypass yesterday (your Friday,) so now the roles are reversed, and my dad is the one in the waiting room, and she is starting to recover from having her chest split open, etc. So, we have added them to our prayers along with you and John. Truly, sometimes, I believe God allowed us to go through great suffering so we can empathize more with those that suffer around us. I am thankful that I have more empathy for others when they are going through this kind of a situation. My heart really reaches out to you. I wish I could have been a better friend to you while we were in MO, but know that we do love you and are praying for you now. Our love to you and John, and we will keep praying (and many more people in Africa are praying for you also.) In our weakness His strength is made perfect. He will give you what you need when you need it, usually not before, but NEVER late.
ReplyDelete