Hi All,
Sorry for not getting out an update last night. Mike really improved yesterday. He was taken off the morphine, and is now on a pill for pain every 4 hours (note: we later learned from Mike that it is Norco - but that's not confirmed). He is still getting breathing treatments and stayed off of the O2 for a long period yesterday. He did eventually go back on the supplemental oxygen as the oxygen level in his blood is running a little low.
Earlier yesterday, he walked all the way to the hall and back, and then a second time and got in a wheelchair. He was taken down to the first level and then outside so he could spend a little time with his dachshund, Virgo, who came to visit, but wasn't allowed in the room. Mike's Dad also reported that he witnessed Mike get up and user the walker quickly to get into the bathroom, which was "unbelievable considering that he could hardly stand up three days ago". The Physical Therapist and Occupational Therapist will continue to work with him to get him out of the hospital ASAP (which we now know will be today!).
His appetite is definitely back. He ate some pizza from Lou Malnati's with his family last night. [Note: his entire immediate family is now there - Dave, Ruth, Jenny, and Bill). He had a large crowd of visitors, including Linda and Andrea Kirch, Sean Murphy, Tony, Brownie (Matt Brown), Bree Snyder, Wayne Krempach (Mr Karaoke!), Mark and Becky Melsa, along with the entire Melsa clan - Caroline, Liam, Daniel, Abby, and Joshua.
Dave and the entire family would like to thank everyone for so much positive thoughts and prayers, they were and are very helpful. They would also like to thank Father George for the special mass yesterday in Tampa, FL.
On another note...Pat & I talked to Mike last night as well. We did call once earlier in the evening, but there were so many people in the room, we decided to call back later when it was a little quieter in the room. We talked to Mike around 930pm PST, and he was definitely awake and coherent. He told us about his activities of the day, including going outside to see Virgo, and getting to the bathroom. For the first time, he never once mentioned any pain. That's not to say he wasn't having any, because I'm sure there is still pain there, but it didn't seem to be overwhelming at that time. We had some funny stories to share from our dinner (for one, Pat & I went to Olive Garden, and on the way out, Pat dropped my leftover ravioli all over his arm, my foot, his foot, my pants, the sidewalk - grrr!) Mike got a real good laugh outta that! We spent the better part of our conversation laughing about various things, and Mike was in very good spirits. I think one of the highlights of his day, aside from getting outside and around more, was that his appetite is coming back. He was very proud to tell us that not only did he eat some pizza, but that he ate FOUR pieces! Normally, we wouldn't blink an eye at that, but given the fact that he's been eating nothing but jello and sherbet (and yesterday morning, a small bowl of cheerios), that was pretty remarkable.
We talked to him for quite a while, probably at least 30 minutes, until the Respiratory Therapist arrived to administer a breathing treatment. We said good night, and as we hung up the phone, were reveling in how good he sounded. As I said yesterday morning, he sounds MUCH less congested (breathing treatments are certainly helping!) and is starting to sound more and more like his old self. He still has a long recovery, but every day, we've heard him progress.
Per my email, Mike will be released from the hospital today. We don't have a clear idea of what time, or any further details, but I will post them here as soon as we know more.
Love & Blessings,
karin
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