Day Thirteen Part Two

5:42
Don was still awake when we went in to see him at 3:00. His fever was back up to 102.5. I asked why it might be back up and the nurse told me that while they were doing PT that it had come loose. They were feeding him by tube when we went in and he seemed fairly comfortable. Don is talking quite a bit but he is still confused and hallucinating. He has had many boil type sores or blisters to come up on his body. I asked about them over the weekend. They said they could be from tape that had been placed on his body to hold I V's or bandages etc. Or it could be from all the fluids they had given him on Saturday. It was another way your body reacts to the extra fluid. He was very swollen so I assume it is the latter of the two explanations. Those blisters have begun to burst and they are leaving raw skin. With the blood thinner he is on, those sores are "weeping" as they nurse calls it. They are planning on taking him off the morphine tonight at 6:00 and start him on oxycodone - a step lower than oxycontin. He will get the oxycodone every 6 hours. Don has taken oxycodone before but just pray that he will not have any type of bad reactions to this medicine. There are still no reports of infection anywhere. We still need that fever to come down. We also need his kidneys to be healed and his mind cleared. If we could only be sure that the medicine is making him confused I would not worry about that. It's just a whole lot of uncertainties at the moment and I just want to know what we are dealing with. Please just keep praying!

Day Thirteen

1:55
Don was wide awake when I arrived at 9:30. He was worried about our dogs and I had to assure him that they were alright. Taylor brought him a picture of Ellie (our Jack Russell) that we had promised him last night. We will take that in at 3:00. He didn't sleep at all last night so they want us to keep him awake as much as possible today. Hopefully he will sleep tonight. He is still somewhat confused but it seems to be better today. They came in to do Physical Therapy about 10:45 and Don was able to sit on the side of the bed. I had to hold his hand that has the half cast on it to keep him balanced. The Physical Therapist was very pleased. They will come in once a day for PT until Don is able to leave the hospital. After PT Don said he felt so good and had a big smile on his face. They are allowing him to have a little to drink (water & juice) by mouth. He is very thirsty. His fever was down to 99.7 before we left him at 12:30. They allowed us to stay a little longer since the PT took place during our visiting time. He still hasn't had any "food" by mouth or tube. He may get to have something by tube this afternoon. His kidney levels were high again today so they have placed him on more I V liquids. They gave him morphine after PT and Don began to talk a little confused and he was very tired. When we left he was watching TV and trying to rest. Thanks for all the prayers! Just keep praying!!