Sabbath,  February 9
Day 27

Karissa  provided some support for his head.

It's such a blessing to have Winston and Karissa here.  Their presence comforts me, takes the burden of John's care off of me, and provides some healthy diversion.  They arrived about 10 last night, driving the 7 1/2 hours here from Southern.

Dialysis was not nearly so bad yesterday, only because they gave him a unit of blood AND some iron.  After it was all done, he asked me to scratch his rashy arms and legs.  First I rubbed and then I used my fingernails and he just got this most delightful expression on his face, as though this the first pleasurable feelings he'd had in almost four weeks.  I kept it up for the 30 minutes until the transport team arrived.  He's asked me to scratch him again this morning and that's an easy request to fulfill.

He did have some pain last night, his first in a while.  He has an incision on his lower left abodomen which has developed a swollen area.  The doctors have said it is OK but when the nurses
moved him, he said he felt a tearing in that area and them some pain.  Not sure he slept very well last night with that and everything else.

A Physical Therapy Assistant came today.  She put a safety belt around him and with me holding his arm, we proceeded to walk all the way to the waiting area, saying he felt secure with the safety belt around him.  At the waiting area, he rested, then could not stand up well enough to come back so he was wheeled back.

Karissa snuggled up to her Daddy while I give him water.

Again today, John is more himself even than yesterday!  He is more alert and has asked Karissa and Winston some excellent questions.  Now, to just get his strength built up!  They are feeding him now and he ate well.

Soon as we get him fed and to bed for a rest, we will go and eat ourselves!

Some kind soul from the Central SDA Church here in St. Louis is bringing us food so we will go and check that out.

Dr. Maniar just came through along with the anesthesiologist.  The cultures are coming back negative on his chest tubes and they are no longer draining, so another one will be removed today, with one more to go.  If he continues to eat well, the tube feeding will be out by Monday or Tuesday.  So, it is possible that we could be discharged (not sure just where yet!) by the middle of the week.  Wow, that's great progress.  Dr. Maniar could see that he was more alert and more himself, too....