Improving

Tom's WBC is 12.3 today and his Creatinine (kidney) number is better too. They took him off the pressers at 7 pm last night and his BP is good. His heart rate is hanging around 110 today but they gave him some lasix, potassium, and have backed off the IV fluids some which can cause it to go up. They don't seem to be too concerned. I waited until lunch to try and catch Dr. Rutland but he apparently came very early this morning. Dr. Rosen has not been by yet. He is supposed to assess Tom's leg today. His leg overall is much smaller because all of the fluid has drained from his tissue. Too bad they can't do that with his other leg! Tom continues to sleep under the warming blanket with a steady stream of food through the feeding tube. I want to ask if they can pull up a bed beside his for me, put me in a drug-induced coma and wake us both when this is all over! I was up until 1:30 this morning working on some server updates and then awoke with a really bad headache. I almost came straight here to steal Tom's pain meds and propofol. My head finally quit hurting about 10:45 this morning. They found me a recliner so maybe I can take a nap later. Tom opened his eyes earlier and I gave him a brief run-down of what's going on. He didn't seem too interested. I told him to go back to sleep - which he did. They have reduced the amount of sedative because they need him to respond to them, which he is doing so I guess that's good. I still would prefer he not be fully awake if he is going to stay on the vent. No one really knows how long that will be. Dr. Rosen might need to make that call based on the condition of Tom's leg. The infection control doc just came in to check his leg, Tom didn't like that too much. The doc said it is getting better. There is no way to know exactly what caused the infection, the kind of bacteria that grew is everywhere so even though Tom hasn't really been anywhere lately, it's just one of those unexplained things we've had so often. His leg was sore before we ever went to UAB so I'm certain it wasn't there. Other than the doctors office, Tom hasn't been anywhere else. We didn't even mention the leg the last time he was at the doctor because it wasn't an issue then. The doctor assured me it wasn't my not-always-clean house, hygiene or the dogs so that makes me feel a lot better. I'm going to head back to work and try to stop by again later to see what Dr. Rosen's plans are. I have a 4:15 appointment so if that is not over before the visiting hour blackout, I'll call and get an update and post later this evening. One day at a time, trusting Jesus.