RECOVERY, Day 1, 1/4 mile walk this afternoon!

People tell me that they check the blog repeatedly, so I will try to write as frequently as possible.  Left to my own devices I'd probably put too much medical detail in here, simply because it interests me.  I'll try to spare you.

As I write it is 2:15 and Peter is sitting up in the easy chair and dozing away.  He has always had a knack for sleeping sitting up, even though he is a light sleeper.  He can sleep with his head held completely upright.  This has served him well on the few long plane rides he has taken.  Getting him into the chair held none of the drama of the morning.

They lowered the amount of pain meds into the epidural by half because of the fainting spell this morning.  That particular drug can lower BP.  But that means that he is now feeling some pain at the incision site, and they don't want pain to interfere with deep breathing.  So the "pain team" is coming back to evaluate him before he takes his first walk.

3 p.m. now and the first walk is complete.  Beforehand they discovered that someone had not turned the "pain pump" back on, so Peter had not had anything except Tylenol since 11 a.m.  That would account for the discomfort!

They got the pump working and got him up for a walk.  They have a special walker that looks like a chest-high padded shelf with stick handles, so his forearms rest on the padding.  Walking is what you do up here, and there is a circular route around the floor.  At one turn they have "mileage" signs.

Once Peter got up (which hurt) he was unstoppable and made it around 4 times at a pretty good clip.  According to the chart, that is 1/4 mile!  His nurse, Hollie,  had to "suggest" that he could go back to the room now and do more laps later.

While Jessie was here I navigated my way through the maze of the hospital back to the Refectory Cafe (in the Divinity School) for some real food.  They had Dahl, which made me very happy, and fresh steamed broccoli and sliced oranges for dessert.

 I took an outdoor route back and discovered that the radiation clinic which Peter visited 5x a week for 7 weeks, had moved.  It is in the sub-basement, and it was a bit eerie walking through the deserted halls.

Otherwise things are much quieter than the hustle-bustle of the morning.  He's happily into the iPad for the first time since surgery, so I will slip out soon for a shower and maybe a nap.