Count it as a good day...

Although I'm cautiously optimistic, I would rate today as a "good" day.

When I arrived, Ed was having some pain in his right side where they had inserted the catheter.  Early afternoon they checked that out and the area was a bit inflamed.  They gave him Ketorolac to relieve the pain and it seemed to do the trick and Ed was much more comfortable the rest of the day.

Ed's big accomplishment today was that he got up and out of bed twice today.  Both times he walked a little bit (pushed himself further each time) before getting into the chair.  He was able to eat both lunch and dinner while in the chair (how much nicer that is).  And with each move to/from the bed/chair he did so with a bit more strength and energy.  I know he pushed himself to do this and I'm so proud of him since I know it wasn't easy.

They did drain his abdomen again today (this will be a daily event for now) and removed 3 liters of fluid.  The swelling in his legs is going down as well and this is helping Ed psychologically as well as physically with trying to move.

Dr. Marvelli stopped in again this morning and said that Ed wouldn't be going anywhere this weekend.  Ed's Nurse Practitioner for this weekend, Matt, also talked to us this afternoon and explained that they need to monitor the fluid and keep an eye on infections and adjust antibiotics accordingly.  He mentioned that they may get an infectious disease specialist involved.  He also mentioned that Ed's white blood cell counts were down (almost normal in fact) which doesn't make sense since this is usually high when there's an infection.  Regardless, until they feel Ed is stable in this area and they know exactly what antibiotics they should be administering (and being sure they know how Ed reacts to any change), Ed would not be going to rehab.  Matt was thinking it would be a few days.

Ed and Dan watched the Red Sox this afternoon and then they watched one of the NCAA final four games this evening.   Ed's spirits were better. I would attribute this to the fact that the swelling is going down and he is able to walk more...and the fact that Dan is home.

So overall a good day.  Good vitals, good progress...  Just being cautiously optimistic since I know tomorrow can easily not be as good.  But we'll take today and be thankful.

We are hoping Ed gets into Elaine in Hadley for rehab, so please keep your prayers coming with our next goals being for Ed to stabilize and also for Elaine to hold a bed for him.

Onward...