Day 5 Update

Last night there was more sleep, just in very short bursts. The nurses seem to come in every just as you fall asleep. Terri got to take her first shower yesterday and that was the first thing that made her feel at least human. Her incision still looks very good. So far everything has been text-book as far as her recovery. The only thing, as expected, is keeping her pain under control. They are expecting to move her off of Torridol today to ibupfrofin since she can't leave the hospital on Torridol (it only comes in I.V. form). This is going to be tough for her to do since the Torridol offers the most pain relief but is short acting. The ibuprofin lasts longer but doesn't work quite as well. The Oxicontin seems to work pretty well and so does the Flexiril, both of which she will be able to have after the hospital.

She has been getting up by herself to use the bathroom, with her handy black cane at her side. She is still moving pretty slow, but it progressing very nicely.

I stayed with her again last night, even though she told me to go get some good rest. However, I knew that she would need more assistance than the nurses offer at this point (they have multiple patients to deal with) so I refused and stayed. I am trying to be the best help I can, even if I am half asleep. Yesterday (or the day before, they seem to be blending together now), when I was trying to arrange her pillows I accidentally hit her near her incision and made her cry, I felt soooo bad. She forgave me though and didn't even swear at me at all. That must have been tough :)

Depending on how she does today, we might be leaving the hospital. We may be returning to my cousins house, Jim and Mary White if she is up to it, or we may be at a near by hotel. We'll just have to see how she feels.

We want to express our love and appreciation for all the family and friends who have made this trip possible through their help both in time and financially, this would have been impossible otherwise.

I can't praise Dr. Oro enough for the amazing work that he did. Not only that but he has the best bed-side manner I have ever seen from a physician, you know he truely cares about the patient.

I also want to say just how much we appreciate our cousins Jim and Mary White for opening up their home to us and being absolutely wonderful people. This is the first time that I have met anyone from my grandmother's side (they all are from Denver). So far we have gotten to meet quite a few in our short time here and they are all very good and loving people. This has been a good beginning to getting to know that side of the family much better. We plan to return with the kids to spend time getting to know all of them better.

The staff at the Medical Center of Aurora has been for the most part very good. There have been a couple of miscommunications and a few nurses with poor bed-side manner but all-in-all it has been a good facility. Heck the food here is better than some restaurants that we have been in.

Well, that's about it for now, I'll update when I get a chance with some more photos.

Love You All,

Mike