Plan B

11:30 a.m. Long night long morning. Clem woke very early looking haggard and uncomfortable. Not so much pain anymore just hurting from being in the bed and incapable of getting a satisfying position and just too damn tired to walk down the hall right now. We had the x-rays this morning which did not reveal anything alarming or significant so the Doctor is going to wait and see what happens over the next few days. He suspects that the combination of the high doses of Imodium and the tylenol #3 may have stopped his small intestines from functioning. So all of that is being held, his IV fluids have been pumped up to 500ml per hour, and he is going on the tpn nutition program to keep him from starving over the next 2 or 3 day waiting period. The Doctor is confident that this will resolve itself without more surgery.

In the meantime Clem and I are patiently waiting in our room for the PICC line team. They are a specially trained group of nurses who do this daily and apparently they are very busy because the order has been in place for what seems like a long time. I have yet to be a bitch to anyone yet mostly because it really hasn't been necessary. Everyone responds here so positively but we are both exhausted and Clem literally looks emaciated today and he needs nutrition!! So my patience are beginning to wear thin. Fortunately Clem is catching up on the sleep that he missed out on last night. He asked me to crawl into bed with him for the first time this morning so that he could sleep better and we both crashed for a few hours in what was a blissful rest for me. I am only up now because I wanted to let all his family know what was happening and that progress is slowly being made. He is taking in a few clear liquids by mouth now but he is very guarded about the quantities.

It looks like a beautiful day outside. Hopefully by the end of the day Clem will be feeling much better and we will be out walking again. I scoped out a new place for us to walk last night. A covered bridge that leads from the hospital to the adjacent medical building is like being outside but has the benefit of hand rails and a smooth surface so we can roll our new best friend the IV pump and pole. I suggested this morning that we put a hat on top of the pole and and drape a hospital gown around the pump for a more human look. Yes, I am bored. If I ha a needle and thread up here I would have these curtains down and entirely new costume made for the thing.

I'll update again after the PICC line team comes and goes.