Sunday evening in Tulsa

It was another long day of waiting and healing and preparing for surgery as expected. Everything is still scheduled for Monday. We don’t know the actual time for surgery. Hopefully Cara will be able to make posts to the blog from the waiting area as she hears from the circulating nurse.

One of the developments for Sunday was the introduction of the Continuous Passive Movement (CPM) therapy for J’s right leg. It flexes his knee and hip and for two hours at a time. They applied this therapy twice on Sunday. While this therapy helps with circulation and general movement of the joints following Friday’s surgery, it was obvious that J didn’t like this therapy.

After Monday’s surgery, J’s next goal should be to come off the ventilation tube again. Maybe the ability to speak, eat and drink will make it easier to bear all the other treatments he has to face.

Surgery for the hand still hasn’t been discussed as far as schedule. J’s mom did talk to the anesthesiologist about the possibility of an anesthetic block for the hand. The block seemed to be a viable option.

Cara and J’s mom stressed J’s ability to communicate, even with the ventilation tube, by nodding yes or no. He is able to indicate when he needs to rest and when he wants them to remain in the room. Even this limited communication is very reassuring after those moments of confusion on Friday.

Even in Tulsa, the doctors are commenting on how lucky J is to be alive. They have stated that most people with the aorta injury don’t make it to the hospital.

Continued thanks for your prayers and support. After Friday’s surgery lasting four hours, Cara and J’s mom were expecting that again on Monday. They’ve been told it might only be two hours on Monday. We’ll all be waiting and praying together.