Rough Day

After Carl came out of surgery last night, he was one happy man! The anesthesia made him forget his troubles for awhile and we shared in his exuberant relief that surgery was over and that it was successful. Later on we will have some funny stories to tell him!

Then came the pain in his leg. Today his pain level, on a scale of 1-10 was nearly at the top. Thank God for drugs that help to manage the pain. (I'm finding that this is a process and what works for one day may not be effective the next.) He has been fitfully sleeping off and on most of the day although the physical therapists woke him long enough to help him sit up on the bed and swing his legs to the side. I am amazed at how quickly they try to get a patient's body to function as normally as possible. And as painful as it is, Carl wants to do the therapy. It is tough, the pain keeps him somewhat on edge. His body breaks into massive sweats which require changing bed sheets throughout the day and night. Annoying hiccups come and go.

Dr. Rogers, the vascular surgeon, stopped by today and told us that he believes he can safely hand Carl over to the orthopedic surgeon's care. This means they are fairly certain that the transplanted vein is working well long-term!

Another positive from yesterday: even though they could not use a tourniquet during Carl's surgery because of the transplanted vein, he lost less blood than expected. However the nurses are preparing to give him another unit of blood tonight to replenish his supply.

Tomorrow is another day.

-Fan