Dan's Update

It’s Saturday night. Dan had a busy morning, filled with lots of company, as always, and the following achievements: walking 300 feet this morning and even further this evening, working out his arms with the occupational therapist, graduating from a soft diet to a regular diet, and trading in a hospital gown (so cute!) for his own t-shirt and pajama pants Chris had brought in last night. He got a real shower before bed tonight and got to wash his hair, so the Woody Woodpecker look is gone. His vital signs are very stable, and the only discomfort he reports are significant pain along the underside and along the length of his right arm (from fighting with whomever didn’t pull his tubes out as fast as he wanted) and in the right side of his chest from the bruised or broken ribs inflicted by the excellent and effective chest pressure applied by Officer Charlie Negrete during CPR. Dan’s not really complaining about that one, aside from hollering, wincing, and asking for drugs. He knows the rib damage and his ability to feel and holler about it are evidence Negrete did his job correctly.

He’s got a couple of side effects from this whole event that are curious, one aggravating and, he hopes, temporary, and the other a pleasant surprise that he’s hoping is permanent. First, his depth perception has left him, making feeding himself a more adventurous experience. On the upside, he seems to have regained some hearing function. He’d been wearing two hearing aids for a year or more, and one was lost somewhere between the Waveland Café and the Cardiac Care Unit. He hasn’t starting using the other one, yet, as he doesn’t seem to need it. Hears everyone and everything just find, no shouting or repeating required. Go figure!

The defibrillator implantation is likely to on Tuesday of next week (May 11th), and on Wednesday or Thursday, he’ll be released from Telemetry (the unit he’s on, now). Depending upon his progress, which has been rapid, so far, he’ll either go home or to a room in Younkers Rehab for another week or two of physical and occupational therapy. If at home, he will likely need to go to out-patient PT/OT at Younkers (meaning rides will be needed) or in-home PT/OT from visiting therapists.

One note to family and friends, the staff began today enforcing a no-visitor nap time during the early afternoon, so plan visits and phone calls in the morning or later afternoon/evening. One social highlight today was a visit from his son, Brian, and Brian’s friends on their way to the Roosevelt High School prom. Brian was spiffy in his size 50 Long tux and 15 ½ dress shoes – a sight Dan’s glad he didn’t miss, as it’s not likely to happen again for awhile.

Thanks again for everything.