Another great day, although Bill had a rough night and was a little distraught this morning when I arrived. He couldn't get any help in the night and soiled himself, which always upsets him. He's complained before about the overnight CNAs and Lisa, our usual daytime CNA has told us that when she comes in the call buttons are on the floor where the patients can't find them. But, I think just me being there helped him and he settled down to try some breakfast. He also wasn't dressed so I dressed him after he finished eating. His CNA today is one of the lazier ones, didn't check on him at all except to see if he was finished with breakfast and sat in the TV room most of the morning. And to top it off, his pajama pants disappeared! His laundry bag was hanging on the closet door in plain sight so why they weren't put in a plastic bag and put in there is a mystery. I have a sneaky feeling they were just thrown away with his brief when he was changed. We're checking to see it they went to the laundry but I think they were tossed. It happened once before and we found them, but again, that time we had a good CNA.

OK, enough of that. We met with the nutritionist this morning to devise a plan to discontinue the tube feeding. It was decided that he would be connected at 10 pm and it would run until 6 am. Also, if he eats at least 50% of his meal at each meal through the week-end, the tube feedings would be discontinued Monday. If he can then maintain enough calories, the tube will be removed shortly after that. We filled out his menu requests for next week, which included lunch and dinner today. When they brought his lunch it was a chef salad. It looked lovely, but, with the transplant, he cannot eat any raw vegetables not prepared at home because we can't be sure how clean they are. This was in big bold letters on top of his order! But, they brought him another lunch which was supposed to be beef goulash and all it was was the beef! But he ate most of it and some sherbet and fruit cocktail. His dinner tonight was his favorite...roast turkey. He said it was pretty dry and he had some trouble with it because he was not cutting it into small enough pieces.

He was able to swallow his meds tonight except for his Prograf. That one has to be taken on an empty stomach and he gets it at 6. They bring the dinner trays at 5:15. We're checking to see if they can move the time of the meds to 5 which I think will be fine because it's in the 2 hour window they allow for meds to be given.

The wound vac also came off today! It now just has a gauze dressing on it with a clear seal to keep it clean. This will be cleaned and changed every day until it is completely closed. Dr. Landolfo said he wanted to see him in a week and when they made the appointment it was for the 15th, so the nurses are going to call to see if it can be rescheduled. The wound looks fantastic considering what it looked like in the beginning.

We don't know how he managed to get in, and Bill said he just pushed on the door, but he visited the "Memory Unit" today! We had been outside and when we came in I told him to go to his room or the TV room while I stopped at the bathroom. He wasn't at either place when I checked and as I was heading to the nurses station to see if he was visiting them, I saw his hat wheeling down the hall! I got one of the CNAs and he was turning the corner when he got to the door so he went to the other side and there he was! When the door opened, the nurses on the other side tried to stop him thinking he was one of theirs making a break for it! Those doors are only supposed to open when a button on the wall is pushed, but Bill said he just opened the door and went through! It's a good thing I told them he was loose when I left tonight!

Leaving him up was something new for both of us tonight. Usually I make sure he's in bed since he's hooked to his food, but since they aren't doing it until 10 he stayed up. I warned him not to go to the bathroom by himself or to try to get into bed alone but who knows if he'll remember. I told him to go tell the nurses when he was ready to go to bed and they would help him. I also told them when I left. So far no phone calls and it's time for his last meds so maybe they're putting him in bed for the night. I don't know who his night nurse is. I saw a familiar good nurse walking across the parking lot when I was leaving so I hope she'll be on his floor instead of one of the temp ones. It is, after all, the week-end!

I have a prayer request for all of you. My daughter's boss's brother will be undergoing a heart transplant at 4am in Memphis. He is about the same age as Bill and has been living in the transplant unit at the hospital as his health had gotten to the point that he needed continuous IVs. This is the 3rd try for him. So, include Larry in your prayers along with his family as they stand watch. I know from experience what they will be going through!

All for tonight. Have a great week-end! And Happy Birthday to my granddaughters McKenna and Kiyann who are 8 and 5 today!