Flowers

Looking out of Dan's window we can see the Garden Entrance to the hospital. As Spring is drawing near, the flowers are blooming beautifully. The colors are so cheerful that one cannot look at them without drawing some joy from the sight. Dan and I walked outside and the fragrance was amazing. (I'm wearing a little white flower on my shirt that smells so good, but I have no clue what kind it is!) I suppose the garden reminds me of God's goodness and beauty. Granted, He has allowed Dan (and lots of humanity) to suffer for His purposes. Yet, He is still good and working out good things in our lives.

I very much like the view out of this window, however, I will much prefer the view outside my apartment window when Dan is home with me. Which, by the looks of things today, will be on Wednesday :)

Dan began feeling dramatically better after a fluid bolus and antibiotics were started, not to mention eating. The night was alright, though neither of us got much sleep. Dan was able to keep his dinner down, which is a great thing.

The residents came in early and haphazardly redressed Dan's wound. (Dan stated that a boyscout could have done a better job). They gave us little news as it seemed we knew more of the plan than they did.

A couple hours later, Dan got some dilaudid and prepared for wound and drain care. The wound looked pretty good, but McGreeky decided the pull the sutures out to allow for less complicated healing. Dan said the wound vac doesn't hurt much at all today. Also, McGreeky pulled one drain completely out...OUT! Dan prepared for the worst as pulling on the drains usually hurts a tremendous amount, but he said pulling it all the way out wasn't bad at all. Strange, but good. The surgeon will pull the other one out a little more tomorrow morning, though it will be kept in as Dan continues to eat.

McGreeky told us that Dan's WBC count was 5.3--completely normal. We're still waiting on blood cultures to come back, but he's pretty sure the infection was in the PICC. He said Dan will likely get discharged tomorrow. Yay!

The plan is for Dan to spend the night Tuesday in Lodi and then to come home on Wednesday. Jamie will drive him halfway down and I'll drive up to meet her there. I really hope that plan works so Dan can celebrate his birthday at home with me!

I'm flying out this afternoon to Los Angeles to celebrate Lise's birthday and be back for a busy busy school day tomorrow. As my original flight got cancelled (such a bummer), I'm leaving a little earlier than planned. Hopefully, Dan has a good night without me around. Maybe some time to himself will be nice :)

Prayer Requests:
* Ability for Dan to be discharged tomorrow (no fevers, no complications, no scary labs, no suprises, etc.)
* Ability to keep eating and keep the food down.
* Resolution of infection and fever
* Continued healing of the wound
* Safe travels for me
* Birthday reunion in La Mirada on Wednesday!
* NO MORE COMPLICATIONS