We're again getting into the boring days of not much happening. Although yesterday was a little trying for me.

Bill said when he woke up he didn't know where he was (happens to all of us at some point) but he said it took him awhile to realize he must be in a hospital somewhere. Now, they ask him every other day or so if he knows where he is and what month it is. He has always known he was in the hospital in Memphis. He has trouble with the month sometimes, but that's always happened since the stroke during the transplant. We had even been talking about Christmas being 5 days away. So, that was a little concerning. I'm wondering if it is somewhat due to the lower amount of oxygen again.

Dr. Wright turned his flow down to 6. He had been turned up to 10 in the night again, so he must have started to de-sat some while he was sleeping. Or, it could be that they just didn't want to give him time to recover again on his own. He did fairly well at 6, although at some point someone came in and put him on 8. Now, I only left his room twice, once to get lunch and once to go get him some crackers. When Andrea said he was on 8 and she was turning him down to 6 because he was in the high 90s, I had just looked at his monitor and he was at 88. They have decided that anything above 85 now is acceptable, since it doesn't alarm at 85.

Cindy came in and said that Dr. Edwards said that he could go home if he could maintain at 6 liters. I told her that was more than our concentrator at home could go, and that he hasn't taken more than 3 steps since Nov. 15. That really started Bill in on going home. He was ready to get up and put his clothes on. When I told him he had to keep his gown on, he asked if he had to wear it home, so he got it in his head that he was leaving. And that's all he talked about all afternoon. I finally told him that until he got stronger he couldn't come home because I couldn't take care of him and if he went anywhere it would be to the nursing home for rehab. He immediately nixed that idea.

He was also very lazy yesterday. He would not get out of bed, so Eunice, the tech, put his bed in chair position to make him sit up. I reminded him that he would not be staying in bed at home. It's a good thing we don't have a TV in the bedroom or he would do just that I do believe!

So now, among other things, I have to formulate how I'm going to have to approach the doctors about discharge. I told everyone who mentioned it yesterday that we have 3 steps going into the house and right now he wouldn't be able to walk up them, even with help. So, maybe that will get back to Dr. Edwards. I would like to have the discharge plan left up to the pulmonologists instead of cardiology, but you know how it goes here. They take over because of the transplant, even though he's not there for transplant related issues.

I'm also a little apprehensive about him coming home. Yes, I want him home, but I want him the best he can be and I'm afraid that it's going to be too soon again and we'll just end up back in a few weeks. 

I hope they aren't trying to get him home for Christmas. Christmas can come to the hospital like it did last year. So, we'll see how today goes. With the week-end and then the holiday coming, there may not be much going on the next few days. 

All for this morning. I've enjoyed a 2nd cup of coffee already so I'd better get in the shower so that I can leave in a bit. It seems strange to still be at home at 6:10! I'm usually about 15 miles down the road by now, even if I have to stop for gas and I did that last night.