JB has been released from the hospital and is on his way home. The last remaining tube was removed this morning and all checks out for his departure. No more trips necessary to the university, instead think about a visit to the homestead to spend some time with JB while he continues his recovery.

It is Saturday afternoon and I have just arrived at the hospital to visit JB for the afternoon. Our friend Marcos is here and we are discussing the nuances of squash and racquetball. It is fairly quiet here, the gray weather has put a muted tone to the ambient light in the room. Thus JB seems relaxed and calm.

I woke up this morning, sleeping in until 8ish which was nice. I did a few chores and then went to Trader Joe's and then to the VW dealership to get the first service oil change and tire rotation done on the TDI. Afterwards I returned home to put the groceries away, then whisked off to the hospital.

The team of doctors breezed in and out just now. They looked at JB's vitals and commented that they were good. His progress is on track. They are watching the volume of fluid draining from his chest right now. The goal is to get that volume to decrease below 250 ml over a 24 hour period. The drainage has decreased daily, however it is at about 300 ml/24 hours at the moment. One doctor commented the drainage tube could possibly come out tomorrow. Once that tube is out, there is not much keeping JB here. The doctor that did the actual heart surgery had a different assessment, saying he would leave for sure by midweek. It clearly has become a waiting game now for the eventual release.

Any more news will arrive here at the blog over the weekend. The atmosphere is conducive for visitation this weekend, parking and traffic are more manageable for those not familiar with the U of MN. And always much love and thanks for everyone's support.

Last week at this time, JB was being transferred from post-op to the cardiac ICU. It was a long day and he was just opened up and had parts removed. They were reviving him, and he slowly was realizing the pain he was in.

Today JB is in a regular hospital room. He made a long walk, sat out in the hall looking out the window onto the Mississippi river and entertained 5 of his co-workers shortly after lunch time. Our mutual friend Pam showed up later in the afternoon and gave JB a nice foot massage.

I arrived for lunch and am now back at the hospital to spend the evening together. Before arriving I stopped at Obento Ya, a sushi restaurant. I ordered take out and we shared several rolls in the room. JB's appetite was not as it has been for sushi, but he managed to have a decent dinner.

Now were are both on the internet, me blogging of course and JB on his Itouch. There has been no news of any health related events. JB's heart rate is again in flux, but there does not seem to be a concern. His blood pressure and other vitals are very good. His nurse made a comment that JB's blood pressure is the best of any of his patients this evening...he was given a virtual gold star.

Perhaps tomorrow they will take out the sole remaining tube, a chest drainage tube. Nothing for certain of course because everything here is mutable. There are also whispers of discharge, but this is also premature since nothing has come from any of the doctors, perhaps only the optimistic nursing staff.

I am happy the work week is complete. It has gone by fairly well considering the nearly constant moving...from home to work to the hospital to work to the hospital and home etc. Now the weekend offers a bit of relief. I have an appointment to take the car to have its first service and oil change in the morning. Then I will likely make a grocery stop before heading to the hospital.

Thursday evening finds me at the hospital visiting with JB. He is on the 6th floor in the cardiac recovery area. The floor is much less stressful, less noisy and generally a better enviroment. Still not like home of course, but certainly better.

The nice thing about JB's status the last two days is that there is not much going on. I do not have to comment on any awful pain, or gross episodes. JB is pretty well overall and interactive when he is awake. A good sign is that he has grabbed his Itouch and is browsing the web and e-mail. That is a sign that he is recovering well.

I made some food (as well as many other people including his mom who made some tasty veggie soup and some of his sisters brought in good organic blueberries, raspberries and bananas. So, JB's appetite is pretty close to where it was before the ordeal.

The staff on 6C is nice too. They come in less frequently to poke or prod him. Right now JB still has one IV and one drainage tube remaining. They are possibly going to remove that drainage tube tomorrow. There is no word as to how long he will be held in the hospital. I have not seen or talked with any doctors since yesterday evening. The cardiologist briefly walked in last night, but only wanted to see some vitals and quickly was gone.

Again, any visitors are welcome as the weekend begins. JB would enjoy the company to help pass the time. Thanks everyone for your support.

This evening JB has been transferred out of ICU to the 6th floor regular care floor. Another step in the progression of his recovery. Before the move, JB had two walks and sat up in the chair. He has been having bathroom breaks too. This evening he had a substantial meal too.

The pain medications are being reduced, but this is causing him to feel the effects of the surgery. Especially when he coughs...it looks like a bear to deal with. He just ordered some morphine. A few more connections were taken away. Now two I think, an IV (not hooked up) and a drainage tube still in his chest.

The new room is pretty decent. There is a nice view out to the river, the HWY 94 and Lake St. bridge. It will be significantly more quiet and therefore restful. Already I can see JB drifting off to sleep more easily. Hopefully the stay will not be too long, but it will be a better environment for the next few days.

JB had another roller coaster lunch time today. Yesterday I mentioned he was experiencing tingling/numbness and loss of control of his left side. This lasted only 5-10 minutes, but had the cardiac team and neuro team evaluate him. It was not clear what had happened, but perhaps the stress of the walk he recently made and the position he was laying in bed caused it. Today when I arrived JB was sitting in the chair and looking pretty good. He was responsive and had a few sips of apple juice and a few spoonfuls of yogurt.

Within a few moments, his behavior began to change. He requested to get back into bed, and upon transfer he started loosing the ability to speak. The words were not coming out and he was generally not making much sense either. This time he signalled the right side of his body was feeling tingling and loss of control. He became quiet unnerved, and thrashed a bit too. The nurse tried to calm him but probably aggrevated him more with some of that syrupy talk that nurses sometimes use to address a patiences desires.

The cardiac team again arrived and evaluated JB. The delutional state and fog started to lift a bit and JB began communicating near normally. A neurological team was to arrive soon. JB then started to doze off and it looked as if the situation had calmed down.

So it is unclear what is happening, but there are a few possibilities. Today they changed over to a new pain medicine. The goal is to wean off of morphine, but there is still pain requiring treatment. They decided to go with oxycodone (I think, but this may be wrong). I wondered why they chose this, since there is a history of JB having adverse reactions to medications. For example the antibiotic that he took in December while dealing the the lung infection caused him to have delusional dreams and really upset his sleep pattern. Additionally during his IL-2 treatments we found out that a combination of drugs they were giving him (if I remember correctly they might have been the anti-nausea and sleep inducers) caused JB delusional episodes.

We mentioned these facts to the doctors and nurse and suggested that an alternative pain med would be best. JB has been occasionally taking vicoden to help him sleep through the pain his tumor on his arm gives him. The dose he takes had no adverse symptoms, so we suggested that vicoden would be a better pain relief option.

In light of this recent episode, they will be keeping an eye on him in the ICU. However they did clear a room for his eventual transfer to the 6th floor. Perhaps this move will still take place. I am hoping he sleeps off the effects of the drug and that was the cause of todays event. I think JB will be more comfortable out of ICU, less stressful noises and surroundings. Of course optimally JB will be more comfortable when he eventually returns home. No news about that happening, but updates will keep you all informed.

The amount of visitors and their energy has been appreciated. There is always room for more to come by, even for short moments. JB remains tired a lot, so the experience would not be the most stimlulating. I think that simply loving bodies present ads a level of calmness that is palpible.

I'll be heading back to the hospital after finishing my afternoon at work. I will try to update on the situations I described above.

Good Monday readers. The day has gone by and now we are waiting for JB to be given the okay to leave ICU. There have been some issues regarding the function of his heart. On Sunday, his heart rate was in a state of steady decline. Nothing alarming, but a concern that his heart pace function was not working properly. They tested the pace center of his heart with a drug, and it responded, albeit with a slightly irregular signal. They have continued to watch him, and his heart rate is more normal today. The nurse said at the moment they will not put in a pacemaker.

Today JB was up and increased the length of his walk 2 fold, and he was up for several hours. A slightly scary moment occurred when JB experienced a loss of sensation on his left half. You could see it on his face, an unresponsive smile on his left. The heart doctor arrived, and by that time it had gone away. A few tests were done and nothing abnormal was observed. Perhaps the stress of his exercise and the position he was in resulted in this temporary event.

They want to monitor his heart another night and the plan to exit ICU is tomorrow perhaps. JB switched back to morphine for the pain today. Food is starting to become a concern as they are beginning to get feeding back...starting with fluid/juice/broth. I am bringing in organic fresh juiced apple drink. Solid food soon, but not much suitable on the hospital menu (certainly not Gerson Therapy approved).