Yesterday did not start well. Bill spiked a fever of 101.5, just over the "it's probably nothing" line and he said he hurt all over. Dr. Threlkeld started antibiotics again, and told me he was bringing in the closer, not knowing I'm a baseball nut. I told him to get a good one and he immediately came back with Mariano Rivera. So, even though he is retired, he is one of the premier closing pitchers of the game. He started him back on Zerbaxa, which I think is just a broad spectrum, heavy duty antibiotic.

Bill got some Tylenol for the fever and Dr. Mullinax prescribed a couple of mild pain meds, stronger than Tylenol but not as strong as the Dilaudid. (And for you medical people out there, the med names may be spelled wrong, but I'm not looking them up). One of those was Toradol. He preferred the other one, and they never did tell me the name of that one, but it can lower blood pressure and Bill's was also staying very low. So, a one time dose of Toradol and off he went to sleep. He also got a big bottle of Albumin to help raise his pressure. It still stayed lower than it had been, but came up to a marginally acceptable range. His fever also came down to just above normal by afternoon.

In the early afternoon, they wanted to get him into his chair for a bit, and he played possum! If his numbers hadn't been so good on his monitor, his nurse would have gotten really concerned. She finally told him to open his eyes, and they popped open and he winked at her and laughed. He was able to help them get him to the edge of the bed and when they sat him up, he was much stronger sitting and holding himself up with his arms. He moved to the stander and didn't just flop down on the seat, but stood more while they made the pivot and then stood while they got him ready to sit back in the chair. He did really well.

Becky, his nurse, noticed that his trach/vent sounded a little strange so she called respiratory and they decided that the entire trach, not just the inner cannula, the entire track plus collar, needed changed. But, the replacements in the room were a little different, even though the package said they were the same. It would not go all the way in. So, the therapy supervisor and our buddy Mike came in and then sent runners to look for the right one. Each of the runners came back with one so now he has a spare in the room. They got it changed out and the supervisor kept saying he shouldn't be talking with it. He's actually talking better with the replacement than he was before.

When I left all of his numbers were good and he was in a good mood, still flirting with Becky. She said she was going to give him his sleeping meds early, before her shift ended, to see if that would help get him regulated. She was hoping that even if he stayed awake for a few hours after getting them, he would go to sleep earlier and not sleep as late into the morning. I hope it works!

I had so many offers of food yesterday, I could have eaten for a week if I had accepted them all! I know it's not because they think I need meat on my bones, you can tell that's not a problem! But, it was Brianna's family birthday dinner and I didn't want to deal with all the people who would be there, so she and David brought me chicken and dumplinings. Mistie was making baked chicken zita alfredo and offered to bring me some and Joe and Barb said they had chili and pasta and meatballs if I wanted some of that! Bri brought 2 big containers so I'll have some again tonight. They were really good, thanks Vicki! I was also blessed by some friends yesterday with a gift, thanks Ruth and Richard.

Yesterday morning was a hard one for me. I told someone before that when Bill has a good day I have a good day and when he doesn't, I don't. I don't respond well to compassion in these circumstances. Well meaning words and hugs usually bring tears, and they did yesterday. One nurse who has had Bill even gowned up just to come in and give me a hug. Just thinking about it brings tears again. I know part of it is just being tired, and today I'm really still tired. I slept well for the most part, but I didn't want to get up and I'm still tired. I think I'm going to leave a little later this morning since it's Saturday. The traffic shouldn't be as bad and I should still get a good parking space. But, I'm going to drink an extra cup of coffee instead of rushing around after finishing this. And since the internet was useless at the hospital yesterday, I didn't get to do any of my research on attorneys and benefits that I wanted to do so I need to spend a little time doing that this morning.

It's cold and rainy here, but we missed the ice and snow that those farther north received.  I hope everyone stays warm and dry if that's where you are and nice and cool if you're lucky enought to be in a milder place. See you tomorrow!