Oh what a day! I'll just warn you right now, these posts serve as my journal through this. I have to give some details so I have them, so the information may be a little much or boring for some of you. I apologize for that, but I'm not in any state of mind to update family and friends through text and fb and keep a journal. So this is it for now.
Today has been a busy and eventful day for Colby. When I got to the hospital this morning they had him sitting up and were about to give him a bath. Since I got there they 'let' me do it. His nurse was pretty concerned with his lack of balance and coordination so she had the physical therapist come in and work with him a little. She did some exercises with him, squeeze fingers, shrug shoulders, lift arms above head, straighten them, march while sitting, straighten leg and flex foot, push and pull her. And then she wanted to get him up. Out of bed. Sitting in a chair. Walking. Moving around. So...we did. He had to use a walker, plus have the nurse and PT hold him. It definitely took both of them to get him up and keep him up. He walked out of his room, down the hall, and back. And he did so good! Sure he's wobbly, his equilibrium is off and he sometimes wasn't sure which foot to put first, but it's baby steps! He needs to get moving for a few reasons. 1- it will make him stronger 2- get his bowels moving 3- keep his lungs open and working. He's very cooperative and allows the help. Which is awesome!
His nurse doesn't think his balance issue has anything to do with his double vision, which he says is 10 times worse since surgery. His eyes still wander a little, and he doesn't look straight at you when he's looking at you. Sounds weird. It is. I did talk to him about that, but told him the nurses aren't concerned so he's not worried. Today I was still concerned. So when Dr. R came by I asked him about it. He's a tricky man to talk to! When he came in the room he asked if Colby was ready to go to the other floor. We told him he still had his catheter and that ticked him off. "Get it out! Gone! Take it! Now!" He was almost yelling at the nurse. When she told him she wanted to talk about it he said there was nothing to talk about. This wasn't a discussion it was an order. Get the catheter out and get him out of ICU. We all kind of walked away and let their conversation play out. He did have to get an MRI so he compromised and let it stay in until that was done. The problem with taking it out is that he can't just get up and go to the bathroom. He needs help. And waiting for it might not always be an option. But he cannot get out of bed by himself. Dr. R says that's why he wants it out. It makes him get up and walk and then he'll get stronger and get his balance back. We'll see! So far, it's not working. So, when I asked him about his eyes he seemed a little frustrated that I was bothered by it. He expects him to have those problems. He had it before surgery, so he'll definitely have it after. That's where the tumor is, and with all his probing and messing around in there, he will have problems. But it will go away. He just doesn't know when. Possibly 2 weeks to 6 months.That part is frustrating! But we'll learn to be patient with it.
These are his nurse doing her Neuro testing on him today. He has to pull her hands, push her away, and then a couple where he can't let her move him. Notice the blue bag? He doesn't let it out of his reach!
Tonight his nurse did a bladder scan because he hasn't been able to pee, and she said there's about 12-15 oz in there. If he doesn't go soon, she'll have to put a catheter back in just to drain it. Which she doesn't want to do at all!! He's been sleeping good, and hasn't really been in very much pain. He did scare me a little tonight...we were watching the fireworks and he started saying weird things. Just basically was finishing conversations we'd had earlier in the day. But it wasn't really making sense to me. He said "I'm really glad Sherie came when she did." I had to ask him to elaborate more to get that she came at a good time to help with the kids so we could finish packing and get up here. Then "I'm sure Hallie helped with Lexie's hair" "ask her to get some electrical tape. I'm sure she has some in her car" pointing behind him to the nurse, who wasn't there. He wanted her to fix a spot they had taken out an IV. It didn't need to be fixed. "Don't sit there!!" Talking to Noah. "Cutler!!" Mad about something?? During all of this I was talking to him. Asked him questions about all of it. Finally thought maybe he was asleep and sleep talking, which he doesn't normally do, but he would immediately answer me and say yes he was asleep. I said to him the boys aren't here, you know that right? Yes! He answers immediately. Almost before you're done asking. This all just made me nervous so I got the nurse and she did some neuro tests on him. Where are you? What's today? Who's this lady standing by me? And he passed. So she thinks he really did doze off and was just way out of it and talking. But if it happens again she'll call Dr. R. So I'm staying at the hospital tonight with him so I can watch and listen. Also, his speech is different. I don't want to say it's slurring, but it's almost mumbly. He doesn't really close his mouth when he talks. Can't really explain it. I talked to him about it. He knows it's different but can't decide why. It seems hard for him to talk. Not sure if moving His mouth is too much work, or making the voice come out.
His room is up on the 14th floor of the hospital, and thankfully we're on the back side, where we face Murray Park, which is where they do the fireworks. So we just pulled chairs up to the window and watched them. It was the next best thing to being home, up on the black hill watching them with our kids and family.
So for Saturday we need a few things to happen. I guess I want some things to happen. We need his vision to get better. He needs to be able to balance better. He needs some urine output and a bowel movement. His speech needs to get stronger, and he needs to keep liquids down so he can move on to food. Ok, so this doesn't all have to happen tomorrow, but maybe he could use some more prayers?! At least the bathroom bit, eating, and balance. I would feel better if those were improving. We really are so grateful for everyone who has been a part of this journey. It's definitely a trial, and I know we'll make it through by putting all our faith in The Lord. We couldn't do it without Him!!
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