A good weekend

Things have been good this weekend. Tom and I got out a couple of times and he even went to the grocery store himself while I was at church this morning. Hopefully his potassium and ammonia levels aback to normal. We'll find out tomorrow.

Tom doesn't have a whole lot of strength or stamina. I think getting out has helped both but he will really need to work on that. He's trying to "budget" his physical therapy visits so he hasn't had the therapist come out in quite a while. Tom does better when the therapist is here working with him.

We're praying for a calm week. We hope you all have one also.

A double whammy

After a great deal of effort I convinced Tom to go to the doctor to get his blood tested today. Even though his doctor is off on Thursday afternoons, the office did call to tell us that Tom's ammonia level is "elevated" (it's 101 which is high to me) AND his potassium level is low. A prescription is being called in for the potassium and I will go and pick it up shortly. Tom is supposed to take a double dose tonight and another double dose in the morning! He has to go back on Monday to be tested again. I just gave him a dose of the ammonia medicine. I know he gets a full dose in the morning, but he told me he's been taking some at lunch so I don't give him a full dose in the evening. Last night he didn't want any. I'm going to have to watch that I guess.

More than anything, I am worried that he is not pumping his shunt. He says he is but with the confusion, I'm not sure if he remembers what he is doing. If it clogs, it is history. This is something specific Im asking you to pray for. He looks a bit more swollen to me too so, that's another reason he needs to be pumping more than he is.

This just really needs to get better fast.

Feeling Better

Tom says he's feeling better.  I was not convinced earlier in the week but he seemed to be up moving around more yesterday (he unloaded the dishwasher and put everything away - which was huge for me)!

He said he's "pumping" so I'll take him at his word.  I asked him if he felt like it was working, he said he thought so.

I wish it was an easier process to get his blood levels checked.  His potassium was low when we left UAB and I'm just wondering what it and the other levels are like.  We could go to his doctors office to get them checked but it's such an ordeal to get there and I know Tom probably doesn't want to go.  I'll keep an eye on him and see how the next day or two goes.

I think we're both anxious for him to get better and stay better without the fluid setbacks.  It was pretty mild here yesterday and I offered to take him somewhere or just go for a drive, but he declined.  Maybe we can do that this weekend.  I don't want to wear him out but I want him to be forced to move a little more.  It's too easy for him to put off doing anything at home.  He and the pups seem to enjoy curling up together under the warm blanket and snoozing :-)

We are thankful for your continued prayers.

Doing ok

Tom is still not feeling great. I was hoping he would rebound today but he's been complaining about soreness in his abdomen. Now that he is back on lasix, he's been getting up a lot so maybe that's why. Who knows?

It's been a pretty quiet day, other than the exciting football games. It was great to be in town to go to church this morning, some friends of ours were in town from Atlanta and it was great to see them in Sunday School.

Bad storms are expected in Nashville tonight so I've brought in a bunch of firewood and we have a fire going just in case we lose power. It's fairly mild here so that helps a lot. I've also gathered together some water and snacks for us and the pups and put them in the powder room, which is our "safe room" here. I doubt Tom will join me there but that's where the dogs and I will be if the tornado sirens go off.

We hope if yoo're in the path of the storms, you stay safe.

We are going home!

Despite a rough night, we are going home. Tom didn't feel well most of the night. I personally think it was all of the food he ate yesterday. His potassium was low this morning so they gave him a couple of huge pills. They didn't stay down very long, maybe 45 minutes. I don't know if that is long enough for them to do their thing. Dr. White has been in and given the ok to go home. He said Dr. Eckhoff would be here about 11 if we wanted to wait around to see him. Tom said he would like to get on the road, I don't mind waiting. It is pouring down rain right now and there is a tornado watch until noon so I'm ok with waiting a little bit longer. It takes Tom quite a while to move around and get ready, I'm not too worried.

They always say the second day after surgery is the worst. I have personally experienced that to be the case and I think it's going to make the trip home a long one. Hopefully Tom will be able to sleep most of it.

Dr. White said we would need to come back in a few weeks for a check-up. I hope we have that appointment time set before we leave. I've found it quite a challenge to get in touch with the Liver Center on the phone and it seems like we always end up with conflicting information on the scheduled day. I'd like to be able to have some say in our appointment time too.

Unless something changes, you probably won't get another post today. Once we get home there is so much to do in getting settled, unloaded and unpacked. Plus, the puppies will be very excited to see us. I'll try to post an update sometime tomorrow.

Good News

We may get to go home tomorrow! Dr. And team just came in to see Tom and said everything was looking good. Tom actually told me after they left that he would like to stay one more day just to be sure. I agree with him on that. This pump takes some getting used to and I want to make sure Tom knows what he is doing. He's feeling pretty good this morning because his stubbornness is back! We slept well last night despite the interruptions. It was much better for me once Tom turned the lights out about 2 am. He still tends to doze off quite a bit but he's been doing that all along.

Tom's sister, Cathy, and her husband, Dave, are coming to visit this afternoon. Tom is pretty excited about it. When he was in recovery yesterday he asked if his sisters were still here, I told him they would probably come this weekend if they could so I'm glad I wasn't lying to him. He wants to go to the cafeteria and have lunch together when they get here. I told him it was 3 blocks away and that we might need a wheelchair. He probably walked at least that much on Wednesday but that was before surgery.

Tom forgot his cell phone charger so I may head out in search of one in a little while. It seems I get stir crazy much faster these days so it will be nice to get out of here for a little while. He could use a new one anyway. Maybe I'll find a mall on the way!

Thanks again for your prayers. God is listening and answering!

Room P860

Tom is settled in his room. In fact he was here about 40 minutes before I even knew. I finally went up and asked the status and they told me he was already up here. He is alert and waiting on some broth, jello and Popsicles. He's pretty hungry and thirsty. I have not seen a nurse but it's getting to be shift change time. I've made one trip to the car and have at least one more to bring my stuff.

Tom is complaining about being sore, but he has been for a couple of weeks. Now he just has a couple of more reasons. He has no cath so I guess he will be getting up tonight. That's not a bad thing, I don't want him to lose any of his strength.

Going to go get something to eat and get my stuff out of the car. I'll post again tomorrow.