Karl is having another good, albeit busy, day. After having a good night's sleep, his plastic surgeon dropped in bright and early and told him he was going to avoid surgery another day, that all was healing well. The infection control doctor stopped by later and said Karl had "turned the corner." Fantastic news! And believe me, Karl was dreading the thought of more surgery. Apparently his white cell count is down and the infection is being held at bay.
Two RNs came in to change Karl's dressings and bathe him and change sheets. They call it a "buff and fluff." Rolling him has become much easier and less painful because Karl can tell everyone exactly how he wants it done. This process generally takes between 45 minutes and an hour.
A nurse educator came and spoke to us about a his care and answered questions. Next, Karl's orthopedic surgery team dropped in...they are happy with his progress and told him he could now sit up straight in bed. They also ordered special braces that will help Karl's legs and feet stay strong. Mom and I have been taking turns rotating his hips and moving his legs so they don't atrophy too much.
Two social workers came in later and asked about whether he would be staying here for rehabilitation or going home. The answer to that is: we don't know! We have learned to go with the flow when it comes to specifics, although I find that if we press for certain answers or appointments (okay, it's more like a nag), we usually get a response.
A new reiki practitioner, Ann, stopped by to make an appointment with Karl for tomorrow. Then Brian, a chaplain, stopped in for a nice chat and a prayer. We learned he is an ELCA Lutheran intern from a synod in Iowa, although he's originally from Minneapolis. He has one more year before being ordained. He said there are 40 chaplains that service St. Mary's Hospital.
Karl has been eating bites of cottage cheese and pears today. We are hoping to increase his solid food intake so he can get rid of the IV nutritional supplements.
But other than that, Karl's been laying around and taking it easy. Slacker.
We are grateful to you for your prayers and concern. Please don't stop now!
Love to all,
Kerry
5 comments:
Love you all! Like I told Unk...keep thinking positive!
Love you
Nikki
Hey Everyone it sounds like everything is going well. I'm glad that his care seems to be top notch and they are covering all bases for his treatment. Your all in my prayers and I think of Karl throughout the day..Love to all, Becky
Kar-r-rr-rl!!! SO HAPPY TO HEAR YOU ARE DOING SO WELL...KEEP IT UP...ALSO I'M HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE THAT P.K. HAS DECIDED THAT THE MOHAWK HAS TO GO ...WE'RE SHAVING THE REST OF HIS HEAD TODAY...YAH!! TAKE CARE...THE CARR'S
Hey KARL... You look and sound great!! It was so very good to hear your voice and see you. We miss you! We check the blog a couple of times daily,to keep track of your climb and keep you 'all' in prayer..
You keep up the good fight
bud~ You are an amazing man, your faith, attitude and stamina through all of this has been and continues to be.. an inspiration to us all. God bless you~ all, always~ Your Team(Commercial Pool)
Mark, Kari and Laura
Karl- we're checking in on you from Ann Arbor. Glad to hear things are going better. Take care-
Laurie Z, Diane N, Dr. Schuetze et al.
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