-- by Randy
Well we are more than 48 hours from the surgery and Holly looks better and is clearing some of the anesthesia and other drugs from the operation. The team is working to alleviate more of her pain. She still has some issues related to physical interventions like breathing tubes related to the surgery and anesthesia. We also are waiting the "flatus" event that will announce the return of peristalsis. The waiting for this and other indicators is difficult.
What I neglected to say earlier is that we are in the same room as we were for the transplant, only on the window side.
---------Holly, later------
On Saturday, I still felt rotten and was managing to avoid sitting up with various excuses and offers to do it "later." On the physical therapist's visit that afternoon, I figured I couldn't put it off anymore. Plus, she and the nurse tempted me with an offer to change my sheets and bedding while I was up -- that was convincing in itself!
So, with one of them on each side, I levered myself to a sitting position, then shuffled the 4 or 5 steps to a chair.
As they made the bed, the physical therapist -- who'd obviously had some experience with this -- glanced back at me now and then, as I clutched the seat of the chair with white knuckles and gritted my teeth. "She's not getting enough pain medication," she told the nurse.
They quickly figured out I wasn't able to "voluntarily" dose myself enough with the pain pump, and introduced IV pain control. I don't know what went wrong this time, except maybe I was too knocked out to take charge of my situation.
An observant physical therapist was the start of the turnaround.
