Unsettled Days

Thursday was a better day for Ed.  My mother went to be with him in the morning so I could get things done around the house.  If he was awake, she would call me...but she didn't call and he slept for the first few hours of the morning.  Of course when I arrive, he's sitting up in bed, looking through the newspaper and had just finished a Gatorade (thanks, Mike L.).

He continued to rest throughout the day and the nurse asked him about getting up into a chair which Ed had no energy for (or interest).

He sipped more clear liquids, definitely more than Wednesday when he barely had anything.  And he tried a little bit of applesauce.  He had some abdominal discomfort but took some more pain meds which helped.  They have Ed on a PCA pump with a low-volume of continuous pain med being administered and then Ed can push the button to get an additional dose.  He hesitates to push the button but when he does it does relieve any pain or discomfort he has.  Of course, last night he had a dull headache and so they gave him some Tylenol for that.  As Ed said, he's on all this pain med how in the world can he have a headache--but I guess the pain meds can cause that.

They drained some fluid from his abdomen since he was experiencing discomfort.  Instead of draining all they could, we limited it to just 1 liter.  If they need to drain another liter today, we can do that.  (Sometimes draining too much can cause discomfort as well.)

When I left Ed last night, he was comfortable and had just turned on the TV to watch some Red Sox.  I don't think he really watches it, but it's noise which hopefully calms his mind.

As I write this, my thoughts are going in many different directions as well.  Of course, my every thought is with Ed and his care and comfort.  Today my thoughts are also with my brother Michael whose birthday is April 19th.  He would have been 52 today.  My sister Cathy shared with me shocking news about a friend of hers who was suddenly air flighted to Hartford due to an aneurysm.  She has two young children and so I pray for her and her family.  As terrible as I feel my situation is, it reminds me that others have it worse and this is a younger woman with two young children.  So I pray for her recovering as well.  And then this morning I wake up to see they are hunting down the second bomb suspect in Watertown, right next to where Dan lives in Waltham.  As my own life is unsettled, this week has been like hell for so many.  I cannot wait for it to end.  Hoping the weekend brings peace for many.