3:00 pm - Dr. Cambren (neurologist) just stopped by to check in on Cari. He is very encouraged with the way things are progressing. Cari on the other hand is not as confident that things are as they should be. The doctor has helped Cari see the good things that have occured and laid out some Goals for the next few days. These goals are nothing fantastic like run a mile, but they are the basics. First she needs to eat. Ever since her surgery Cari has not had much of an apetite. To regain her strength she will need to simply eat regular meals. Second, she needs to walk farther then the 10 steps to the bathroom. Physical therapists were here this morning to get her walking and will be back this afternoon, but Dr. Cambren is looking for two more walks today and 5 or 6 walks tomorrow. Third, and forgive me for being blunt, but Cari needs to get her bowels moving and we have been told that if she doesn't do it on her own, they have ways of "helping" her.
4:00 pm - At this point oral pain killers are working well, but Cari is starting to be able to feel when the medicine is wearing off and for her, that is not a great feeling. The physical therapists came back for the second walk down the hall of the day. She walked about twice as far as the last time. She is still not as excited about thoses milestones as i was, but then again, i am not the one that fells like crap and just wants to lay down. When we returned from this walk, Cari was able to get another dose of narcotics and started drifting in and out of sleep.
5:00 pm - Not a lot happened during this hour because the drugs wipe Cari out at the beginning of a dose. Of course, dinner was delivered and so it sat and cooled off most of the time. Every once in a while Cari was arouse just enough to say, "I need to eat." and then back off to lala land she went.
6:00 pm - By 6, Cari is still very groggy but she is now making a more concerted effort to try and eat. Finally, after much prodding and convincing Cari to eat, i am glad to report that she almost ate half a meal. I did say almost half right. This was not a quick process and It took most of the hour.
7:00 pm - Once again Cari is really starting to feel the effects of the pain killer wearing off but she seemed to be handling it a little better this time. The shift change for the nurses is at this time if the day and so they are slow at getting medication to Cari. To pass the time we called our kids and talked to the oldest boys who seemed to be doing a little better tonight. Cari worked really hard to make her voice sound upbeat and positive so that it would come off as positive and reassuring. As soon as she finished and handed me the phone, she muttered weakly, "that wore me out." For the last bit of this hour, we listened to Brian Regan, a comic, that a friend gave to Cari to listen to to pass the time. Now, if you thought that this hour could not get nay better, well... Remember what the 3 goals were? We walked, we ate dinner, and now it was time to try and move the intestinal track. It was not happening on its own, so... That's about all I am going to say about that.
8:00 pm - At 8 it was definitely time to take Cari's medication again. And there was a lot to take. Pain killer, nausea, incontinence, antibiotics - internal and external. We finally got them all done, and then it was time for another walk. This was the farthest walk that Cari has taken, but it was also at her weakest state. Cari starts to shake when she has to exert too much effort when her medication has worn off, but since she had just taken all of her medication, it hadn't yet kicked in. By the time that we got her back into bed, she was spent. I did everything to make her comfortable, just in time.
9:00 pm - Finally all the medicine kicked in and Cari has been able to sleep.
This is the same feeling that I get when the house falls quiet at night. The kids are all safely tucked in their beds and I can finally take a sigh of relief from the long days. Cari is a trooper. It is almost weird to think that just 3 days ago, Cari and I were sitting in a operation prep room, smiling, trying to laugh, and not think about how this moment, right now, would be like. I am glad that she has made it through the horrible accident that we went through, 2 additional children have been added to our family, another horrible surgery, that we are optimistic is the right thing to help her have a better quality if life. And now hopefully a quick recovery. As Cari has told many on staff, here at the hospital, "I am a fighter," and she is, and for that, I love you Cari. Sleep well, tomorrow will be better.
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