Back to the 6th Floor

With the snowstorm that moved through our area on Saturday, Dad had his first visitor-free day since his heart attack. He called Mom that day to make sure she wasn't going to to anything stupid (like try to drive anywhere!); she wasn't. Between the storm and my family's schedule, I haven't been in to see him since Thursday, but I've been getting daily updates. The one remaining problem that was keeping him in CCU cleared up a bit on Sunday--they gave him three tablespoons of food through his stomach tube and he absorbed it all. Yippee! Once that happened, he was cleared to move back to the 6th floor, a move that didn't happen until late last night or early this morning because they were waiting for a bed to be available. Dad doesn't remember the great nurses in CICU, but he was getting nurses of a similar caliber in CCU and he says he'll miss them. There was one in particular who, he said, should have her name as the dictionary definition of TLC. But the 6th floor has it's good points, none of which spring to mind at the moment. Anyone care to come up with a few?

Roger, to answer your question: yes, Dad is talking. His trache tube has a speaking valve that can be put in place when he wants to talk. It takes some effort on his part (yesterday they replaced his usual tube with a smaller one, which should make it easier for him to talk around), and after his GI tube surgery, it hurt his diaphragm too much to talk, so he was silent for a few days (that is, he wasn't speaking, but he was using hand signals, mouthing words, and spelling out words to communicate). Once the pain subsided, he was back to speaking.

I hope that after this last week of unforeseen complications, Dad's recovery takes on a smooth course. He deserves it after all he's been through!