Day 16 - More Fine Tuning

Morning rounds went well today although Dan had some challenges through the night. It appears Daniel was up at about 4am which may have been caused by a change to his evening med (a switch from seroquel to melatonin in an effort to help with sleep and depression that sometimes sets in with patients who are bed bound. Tonight they may boost his Oxycodone at bedtime to help him sleep. His sodium levels are still high but coming down as is his blood glucose level so there's that.

No word on when the next surgery will be, but we figure nothing for possibly another week or so while the skin from his legs heals and it's ready for more grafting. Speaking of grafting... yes his first surgery went well by all indicators, but it's too early to tell how the actual grafts took to his arms. For any grafting on his face they plan to use his scalp - they can shave his hair, then grab what they need as the skin on his face is a good match for his face and chin. No, this won't make him have insta-beard since they only peel off a few layers of skin when they harvest a graft. The hair follicles are deeper so his hair will grow in over time on the graft site.

Daniel has been on and off oxygen by both mouth and nose. There seem to be times when he's doing fine with no oxygen, then he seems to slide a bit off optimum oxygen intake (they measure that from his toes since his fingers are burned). At our elevation with the air being thinner here in Colorado the optimal number isn't like 99% as it is at sea-level so anything above 90% oxygen intake is good. The nurses watch for (alarms go off) his breathing to fall off and give him some oxygen for awhile then see if he can power through it on his own, then give more oxygen if needed. There's also a rumbling from deep in his throat that I can hear - he has a lot of "stuff" he's coughing up, but sometimes nurses still need to run a sucker down his spare nostril and vacuum up whatever's there.  (sorry if that was gross). This is "normal" for a few days after one has had an airway helping them to breathe - at least that's how I've heard it explained.

I went to work today and waiting there for me were more cards and gifts for us. The outpouring of support, encouragement and love feels great. But Dawn and I are... Well I'll let Wayne and Garth sum it up!



At any rate - Dawn and I wish to thank EVERYONE for how supportive you've been - close, far away and in between. Thank you! [Furthest away you ask? Quite possibly a work friend (where Dawn and I met at PDA) from my deep dark past while living in SoCal. He now lives in South Africa ~9,300 miles away].

In a short while Jamie, Daniel's home OT, may be stopping by for a visit. We are thinking we may try to get him to stand for a short while if the nurses are okay with it. But just some quality time with Jamie is always good for Dan.

Evening may bring a dressing change in his room during the night shift. Daniel doesn't need to go to the tub room for dressing changes right now since he can't get his arms wet for a few days. It's easier to do his dressing changes in his room.

I'm told that two new patients arrived who are requiring some extra attention by staff so they will get around to Daniel a bit later than usual. I remember that day for us when Daniel came in to the burn ICU - seems so long ago - that scary, sick feeling in our stomachs, utter dread, mixed with sadness is something that creeps into my mind when I'm trying to fall asleep, but can't.  grrr  Luckily I feel like I can put it out of my mind (usually) and get some solid sleep each night. Daniel has come a long way in this short time!