Monday, May 26

It’s 1 pm. Lois is sitting in the chair after a walk and is comfortable. If she complains about anything its discomfort in her lower back. We’re not sure if that’s because she’s spending so much time on her back or because of the surgery.

We’ve had a busy morning. Lois’ sister, Mary, who arrived Saturday, visited until 10 this morning and then left for her 4 hour drive home. Shirley Will and her Dad stopped by, and Joy and Tony and Kari and Jeremy along with all the kids spent about an hour taking turns in Lois’ room before they headed home. (They stayed at a local hotel this weekend and let the kids enjoy the pool. Tony and Jeremy took major responsibility for the kids.) Peter is probably arriving this afternoon.

Somehow during all the commotion, the Nursing Assistant helped Lois take her first shower since Wednesday and that helped her feel a lot better.

Yesterday we started doing all her meds by mouth except the IV antibiotic which they tell us she’ll be on for seven days following surgery. The pain medication works better when it goes through ordinary metabolism, but sometimes Lois feels a little queasy after taking it although she has not been nauseated. She usually falls asleep for about 20 min within 20 min of taking pain meds and is then awake and able to carry on conversation until the next round in four hours.

The drainage tube discharge and urine output continue to be encouraging. Vitals are good although they are now becoming concerned about blood pressure running 155-165 over 55-65. The systolic number is higher than optimum. No fever but they continue to push a bag of IV antibiotic every five -six hours.

Lois just finished a small container of ice cream and has talked about asking for a grilled cheese. Food is beginning to sound good again and that’s a good thing.

That’s the news for now. If we learn anything significant, I’ll post again.