Day Three

Day 3 - Saturday, December 6th

Don rested well last night. It was up and down until about 3:00 AM but he slept pretty solid until 6:00 AM. When he woke he was in a good amount of pain because he is on a PCA pump with Dilaudid. Because he was sleeping so well, he didn't use the pump and that is the only pain medication that he is getting. They have been struggling to get blood, as all of his veins in his arms (that are not covered up with bandages) are "blown". They have been having to take it from his foot and even that is a bit of an ordeal. After the poking and prodding he ate a bit of grits for breakfast and had a few visitors. The ortho doctors came in to change the cast on his left thumb to allow the end of his thumb to be exposed and usable. They stated that he had an issue in the back of his hand that a ligament was causing the bones to separate and that they would need to do more x-rays to find out exactly what was going on. If it is indeed an injured ligament that is causing the bones to separate, they will operate on that when they repair his thumb. The doctor said if this is the case as they suspect, the ligament issue is worse than the thumb. After changing the cast he was bathed and bed linens were changed. This was not only very, very painful, but tiring as well. By that time it was lunch and he ate a few bites of a grilled chicken sandwich and some more pudding. He is drinking plenty but is not eating much at all. After lunch he is sleeping really well, according to Kristi.