Ron is pretty alert today, but he does not remember yesterday.  Andrew, Laura, and I were all here with him yesterday evening, and were able, between the 3 of us, to figure out some of what he was saying.  He has not lost his sense of humor; when the night nurse came in to introduce himself and tell Ron he'd be taking care of him, he asked if he could get him a Bud Light.  He was figuring out where he is and why, but today, did not remember. 
 
They have taken away his IV fluids except the Cefepine antibiotic every 12 hours.  The fluids and Atavan, they are giving him through his stomach tube, which is moving the right direction to wean him gradually from all the hook-ups and machines.  He is still on 2 mg of Atavan every 4 hours, and Fentanyl as needed.  His temp is normal, 98.2, and all the numbers are the same as yesterday.  They had lowered his O2 input to 40% by last night, and it is still there today.
 
A resident surgeon was in to remove some the gauze that had been packed around the trach.  He said it looked good, and did not even bleed when he was working on it.
 
They just took him down for a CT scan of his lungs.  The morning xrays must not have told them enough information.  His last CT was 2 weeks ago tomorrow, so they can compare to that.
 
He is still coughing up a lot of stuff from his lungs.  He is getting movement back and can get his hand up to his face more easily today.  He is still weak and couldn't write words when he tried with a pen.  He could hold the pen and make marks on the paper which he couldn't do yesterday.
 
Laura and I trimmed his toenails and fingernails, and they have shaved him about every other day or so.  He's in pretty good spirits and says he's comfortable.  He still is emotional from the Atavan, and tears up when one of us leaves after a visit.  He is starting to get used to all the tubes and wires.
 
We appreciate all the cheery messages, cards, prayers, and phone calls.  Thank you, everyone!
 
Love,
EJ