Sunday

Posting from Harborview Hospital

Dad is doing great. Everyday that doesn’t bring pneumonia or other complications is a good day. Because of the rib injuries, deep breathing is painful. But deep breathing is necessary for keeping the lungs fully functional. So we help the nurse periodically harass him to inhale strong and deep.

We expect him to be in this ward one more night. It is a one patient / one nurse ward, so he is well tended, but it is very public. There are 24 patients in this room. The more traditional ICU unit is full-up, so the Post-Surgery ward is serving this function for Dad. They expect him to graduate to “acute care” tomorrow, but we don’t know if this will be a new ward or an actual room. We of course would love for him to have a room.

Today he will be fitted for his brace and as soon as it is on he can sit up. At that point the docs can better assess his readiness for rehab.