Hospital day 3

Today ended up being a great day. At 2am, they did a chest xray that looked great....hospitals run 24 hours and 2am is the perfect time (NOT). Labs were almost perfect. Potassium was a little low, and in the hospital, they want all the numbers perfect, so he got a little supplement there. Our home respiratory therapist, Rob, came to the hospital and switched Jason from the bulky hospital ventilator to the home Trilogy machine and began teaching. I re-learned from nursing school care of a trach site, cleaning, suction, changing cannulas....all this stuff I have never done as a nurse that have changed in the past 10+ years since learning in school. Of course, the doctors came in. We chatted with Dr. Berkowitz about going to school at Dartmouth and wearing sandals with socks. He assures us that we made the right decision with getting this done now. I told the nurse practitioner, Brittany that if I ever go back to school, she will be my inspiration. She comes right in and is clearly a very caring and loving nurse at the bedside. This afternoon, Jason's spirits were AMAZING and he was back to his old self. We FaceTimed his parents and left it where he could talk the whole time, and he did great. (We FaceTimed last night with Adie in Maine too while watching the Celtics game...sports never stop). We got to his wheelchair and "rolled" around the unit for at least 30 minutes, if not more. During night shift change (same nurses Tuesday and today), I introduced them to the real Jason. The spunky night shift nurse, Caitlyn, thought this was pretty funny.

A HUGE thanks to my mom for being such an amazing support for me, bringing me lunch from Chik-fil-a, bringing left over spaghetti and meatballs for supper (left overs that Diana made and freezed), taking care of Jackson, and letting me vent and cry when needed. We have gotten and seen all the text messages, facebook messages, emails...the support has been very uplifting. I think Jason is ready for visitors. Atlanta folks....visitors welcome tomorrow before 9pm :)

Our discharge will not happen until Monday, 5/8. There is a lot more learning to do, ordering supplies and delivery to our house, just making sure everything is perfect.

Plans for tomorrow:

-Our nurse Rachel wants to take us outside. ICU patients don't leave the unit, and she wants to make sure we get outside-I will be sure to take a picture! We feel pretty special that she is making sure everything is taken care of on the unit to leave with us.

-Dr. Berkowitz wants to draw a ABG to make sure all respiratory functions are within normal limits on the home ventilator. An arterial blood gas (ABG) test measures the acidity and the levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood from an artery. It is drawn from the artery so that oxygen and carbon dioxide levels can be measured before they enter body tissues.

-Finally, the barium swallow study did not get completed today, but will happen tomorrow to see what is safe to eat. This will be pleasure eating, being Jason's regimen gives him all the nutrition his body needs.