Day 5 (SDH+4)

Matt got a good chunk of sleep last night, from about 12 midnight to 6am.  He felt pretty good today.

They put his leg on the CPM machine bending his knee up to 40 degrees which results in his hip being flexed to 50 degrees.

His epidural was turned down to a 6 so he hasn't been as light headed.  His physical therapist had him stand up today.  He supported himself with a walker for about a minute.  Later he worked his way to a chair where he sat for an hour and a half to eat lunch.  His leg has to be either stretched out forward or pulled in next to his other leg.  That was big progress since he didn't pass out.  The only time he felt a little light headed was while talking, since it uses up a lot of oxygen.

Today he got his hair washed, his face shaved, and new linens put on his bed. 

His blood platelet count is still at a low of 114.  The doctor can't explain the low count but says it's not in the danger zone so they are going ahead with surgery scheduled for tomorrow, Monday, at noon.

This afternoon, he was given prune juice to get his bowels moving.  They want him cleaned out before heading into another surgery and additional days on the epidural.

They did a doppler scan (ultrasound) of his legs to make sure there are no blood clots. Evidently this is not normal practice for most doctors.  Dr Mayo, again, is taking extra precautionary measures to care for his patients.  Thankfully, Matt's x-ray result was good.  He will get another one before leaving the hospital next week.

Tomorrow morning they'll test his blood platelet count again and get a current x-ray of his hip for the doctor to refer to in preparation for surgery.  The anesthesiologist may replace Matt's epidural with a new one to help prevent possible infection.  Right after last Wednesday's surgery Matt responded with much vomiting.  The anesthesiologist said it was most likely due to the general anesthesia.  Evidently they gave him about every known anti-nausea drug to try and stop his vomiting.  This time they'll try something different, maybe tweak what they gave him to help diminish his nausea.  Dr Mayo said Matt has a good epidural and that it's doing a really good job blocking the pain for him.

Several weeks before his first surgery, Matt gave two units of blood to have on hand in case it was needed.  Thankfully, they haven't had to use it yet.

Today Matt heard even more stories about Dr Mayo.  He seems to have his own distinct way of doing things and is very good at it.

Thank you all for your emails, phone calls, blog comments, prayers, and thoughts for us.  We appreciate them all and are encouraged when we hear from you.  Matt will be out of commission for a couple days now, but feel free to call or come visit starting Wednesday.  Most likely he'll be in the hospital (Tacoma General Hospital) until Friday or Saturday.