He's Home! (12.4.15)

Less than 24 hours after the completion of his 8.5 hour surgery, Chris is home.  I think we all felt a sigh of relief when we were able to get him comfortable and relaxed at home yesterday afternoon (he got home around 3 PM).  Sarah and I have become organized drill sergeants trying to make sure that he completes all that he needs to get done.  Here are some examples of what he has to do:

• Pain medicine every 4 hours.  This is a top priority because we want to keep his pain under control and not let it get past the uncomfortable threshold.  This meant waking up at 2:30 and 6:30 in the morning to stay on schedule.
• Drinking at least 3 quarts (96 oz.) of liquid a day.  The nurse recommended sipping all day but Chris is a rock star and has been able to drink 8-10 ounces in one go without complaint.  I was concerned about his ability to swallow, but this is not an issue!
• Antibiotic, 3 times per day.
• Congestion relief: this includes an Afrin nasal spray, sudafed up to every 6 hours (as needed), using a suction bulb (good practice for our baby!), children's liquid benadryl at night, vick's vapor rub, and saline nasal sprays at least three times a day.  He had more congestion last night but the Afrin spray really helped him.
• 10 deep breaths each hour to prevent pneumonia.
• Walking (very short walks around the house) multiple times a day.
• Continuing to use blistex on his lips and ointments on his brow stitch and nose.

It's challenging to balance all of this, while separating medications by one hour to prevent upset stomach and finding time for him to sleep, but we're getting through it.

Chris is currently sleeping and I think much happier after taking a bath.  We finally got him out of his hospital clothes and into something clean and comfy.  There was a sweet moment after his bath when Chris mentioned that he wanted our dog, Oliver, to say hi.  Oliver walked right up to him (Chris was sitting on the couch), and leaned his head against Chris's legs so that Chris could pet him.  He was very gentle and sweet with him - I think Oliver knows Chris isn't feeling well and Oliver wanted to comfort him.

Chris has mentioned that he feels more facial pressure as a result of the swelling, but this is to be expected.  It looks fairly similar to yesterday, but it's only day 2.  Fingers crossed that the swelling isn't too bad come Sunday and Monday.

He's allowed to sleep as much as he wants until Saturday afternoon, as that's when they want him to try to stay awake more during the day.  The last thing they want him to do as a sleep apnea patient is wake up with insomnia at night so it's important to teach your body to sleep at night and stay awake during the day.  Last night he was interested in watching TV (though he had to multitask with everything going on so I don't think he saw very much), so we can try more of that.