Very Aware

For just waking up after major heart surgery, Elaine is very aware. Her memory of these past two weeks is a little vague but she remembers other things. When Mark walked into the hospital room this morning, she said to him, "You're supposed to be at school." (The physical therapist was quite amused that she was getting after Mark.) I tried to warn him that he would be in trouble with his parents if he used a personal day to visit her in the hospital. He obviously didn't listen to me.

A month or so ago, I told Elaine that I was was running a half marathon on April 6th. I missed it because of my emergency trip to Utah. I was so surprised yesterday when she asked me how the race went. I just told her it was over. I don't want her to feel bad that I missed it. I was amazed that she remembered something I mentioned months ago.

She made progress today. She was able to eat two spoonfuls if applesauce and half a saltine cracker. They are working on getting rid of the feeding tube.

Also they did a cognitive test, that was about 45 minutes long. She did ok, with no huge deficits. There were some questions (math questions) that confused her but it might have been that she was just tired then too. They did the cognitive test right after physical therapy. (Personally I get confused with math questions and I'm not even a patient in ICU.) She is impressive!!!

They are still deciding when to put in the pacemaker. (I feel like a broken record player). They made an adjustment to her blood thinning medication today. They test her blood in the lab every few hours. This place runs like well oiled machine. They stay on top of everything. It is quiet the balancing act they keep up with round the clock. We are so very grateful that she is in such good hands.

We know this whole process will just take time. There will be a lot of baby steps along the way. Thank you for sharing with us as we celebrate even the smallest improvements.