Post Op Day 1-AM Update

Conway's night in the PCTU (ICU) was unremarkable. He slept very well thanks to the sedative drip he's still on. His nurse came in every two hours to check on him and his machines only alerted a time or two. At 5 am they came in to X-Ray and weigh him and that did not go well. I excused myself from the room for the x-ray and when he woke up suddenly he was bombarded with four or five strange faces jostling him around. He couldn't find me and became very scared and cried. I reassured him from the hallway but then his cry turned into a pain cry. He said his belly hurt and was indicating the area where his pacemaker incision is. By the time the nurse got back with a PRN dose of pain meds he was back to sleep and calm. That was 2.5 hours ago and he's still sleeping peacefully! He's had a little itching from the morphine, but they can give him benedryl if he continues. Doctors have already rounded for the morning and the plan for the day is as follows: 1) Wean the Dex (sedative) down, first to .3, then off. 2) Advance his diet as tolerated (he's had nothing to eat or drink since Tuesday) and he was a bit nauseated yesterday after extubation so we need to be very careful here. We'll start with clear fluids like water and apple juice. Once he proves he can tolerate that he'll be allowed some crackers. If that goes well, he may order off the menu. 3) Control pain. He needs to be switched over to oral pain meds so they are going to introduce oxycodone once he can eat something. 4) He will keep his chest tubes today, but they do plan to remove the foley catheter and his arterial line. They haven't ruled out giving him some more blood product so they are going to draw another venous blood gas to check his levels before taking that line out. 5) He will be able to ambulate today, meaning he may move around. 6) Possibly move to the general care floor. This is dependent on coming off the dex drip. It wouldn't be until very late today if it happens at all. Otherwise, they plan to move him tomorrow. Dear God, We thank you for the healing and progress we've seen thus far in Connie's recovery. Please continue to guide those charged with his care. We ask specifically today that his pain be well controlled and that he tolerate the changes being made. We also ask that you take away any nausea or ill effects from yesterday's anesthesia so that he may eat and drink comfortably. Please allow him to find some joy in the comforts of home that we brought along such as his bowling toys and books and monkeys. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen