Ron is doing fine after his surgery.  He has opened his eyes and looked around, but is still pretty sedated.  Dr. Katragada was here a little bit ago and said the secondary lung infection still is in both lungs, but it is a relatively common infection, and the antibiotic he's on is definitely the right one to take care of that.  It will take some time.  Being patient is the hard part.  We all want him better, out of here and home yesterday!  He does look much more comfortable, though his lip is swollen from the ventillator tube, and he has indentations on both cheeks from the supports.  Those will gradually go away.  We are going to get a white board for him to write on when he is a liitle stronger and awake, so he can, hopefully, communicate.  Deb, his nurse, said he will be able to mouth words, just no voice, as the air does not pass over his vocal chords.
 
They changed him over to an air bed when they finished the surgery.  It sort of waves the air under him so the pressure points are constantly moving. 
 
He was pretty alert and awake before the surgery.  I told him how Allie loves Nancy so much cuz she throws the ball for her over and over, and he "smiled" around the tube and nodded.  I asked him if he was comfortable, and he nodded. 
 
Since the surgery, he has squeezed the nurse's hand when asked, and wiggled his toes.  She asked him if he was too warm, and he shook his head. 
 
They will start the tube feeding again 24 hours after the surgery.  He's back up to 70% O2 temporarily, but they will lower that again gradually.  O2 saturation is staying up well at 98%. Peep is 11.   Bp is 104/62, heart rate 81, respirations 36. 
 
Thanks for all the extra prayers to see us through the surgery.  I knew when I woke up today that it would be a good day.  Nicky was even helping this morning by not having even one pile in the barn!!  :)
 
Love to all,
EJ

Surgery went well!!! He should be back up in his room in about 15 minutes. We will update with more information when we get back in the room. He was awake this morning before the surgery and was trying to talk, so hopefully we will be able to communicate with him more after this :)
~ Laura
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