Saturday, July 24, 2010 — A very good day!

Yes, I'm almost afraid to say it again, but this has been a very good day. All the numbers are going in the right direction and Skip's primary Sutter doctor who is not prone to exageration, to put it mildly, said that his condition is a thousand percent better than the last time he saw him a few days ago. Whew! And I do know there can be reversals etc., etc., but I can't help myself. We've been telling the sleeping patient all day that things are really looking up. Actually the patient had a half hour "sedation vacation." Kath and I were warned that this trial time off of the sedation so that they could also let him breath for himself might not be a pretty scene but we said we were ready for it and stayed. As he woke up his arms tried immediately to start pulling out the tubes that enter his nose and his mouth, his number one "enemies" in his mind. They do make him feel the pain of having them there and toward the end the nurse, Kristen, gave him a blessed dose of morphine. During the test, Kathy and I held his hands down away from his face so that they wouldn't have to restrain him. The doctor came in and did a few action orders which Skip answered with the proper movements including wiggling his toes. The test was declared a big success by all and then they put him to sleep again. One more Whew!

As to the numbers, here are a few good ones. White blood cell count down to 16,000. Platelet count up to 160. Still off the blood pressure medicine. His skin continues to look better each day. And another good doctor comment: The kidney doctor says Skip has an eighty percent chance of getting his kidney function back. So now you can understand why we can't help being elated.

Steve has become our daily case manager. He's not intimidated by anyone and loves to ask questions so we just let him do it. All three of our children, their spouses and Chuck and our grandchildren have been amazing with their almost all day visits to Santa Rosa. Sometimes Jenny arrives with gorgeous home prepared food which we eat in the shaded courtyard between the wings of the hospital. The same is true of Danny who had to return to Trinidad last night to take care of their dog but who calls in several times a day. One last bit of family news: I am much better and was obviously able to be at the hospital today. Thanks for all your good wishes.

I hate to sound like a broken record but just about every day I receive another testimonial about people's positive experiences with their or a loved one's stay at Sutter Medical Center. It is so reenforcing of our own experience here. They are bringing our Skip back to us one step at a time and we love them for it. Your emails and blog comments are also helping us so much to cope with the daily stress. Thank you, dear, dear friends and family.