Tour de Toronto

Today Joey did physio in the inpatient gym at the hospital for the first time. 6 minutes on the bike (one minute over the goal the physiotherapist set for him). Woo hoo! His oxygen and blood pressure stayed stable while he was doing it too. Good news.

That’s about all for today. Progress seems to be pretty slow and steady, so I might not be updating every day now.

Also wanted to say another big thank you for all of the cards. We are constantly amazed at all of the support we have received over the last two years. Joey’s room is definitely very cheery now (well, as cheery as a hospital room can be). Thank you!

Will write more when there are any new developments.

Kirstin

Tucked in and Dialyzing

Not much to report. Starting to get a bit more mobile, still swollen, appetite slowly improving. Dialysis is happening as we speak. Hopefully he can sleep through it and then tuck into bed for the night.

Sleep tight!

K

More Movement

Went on a longer walk today (still with walker. I suspect muscle atrophy from lying in bed so much is making movement more difficult this time around). All in all it was a good day for movement, but the swelling is still very uncomfortable and he is getting a lot of muscle pain (again, I suspect this is from lying in bed for so long).

Dialysis is scheduled for tomorrow. Hopefully they can take some more of this fluid off.

Kirstin

The Chicken Legs are Back…Sort of

Joey was moved down to a regular ward today. He was feeling quite a bit better than he did yesterday (hurrah). Went on a short walk around the ward and was a lot more mobile.

Also did a session of the 4 hour dialysis today. They were able to remove a fair bit of fluid (still lots more to go though). It’s pretty amazing to see how much skinnier his legs can get after one session.

His appetite seemed to improve a little tonight. At least he could eat some food. Must be momma Kennedy’s yummy cooking (and some new drugs). Hey, whatever works.

Kirstin

The Last Chest Tube

The last chest tube came out today (again). Joey has a pinched nerve in his leg though, which made it difficult for him to walk today. So it was a pretty sedentary day.

K

The Mega-Walk

Let’s see, what’s new today? Joey went on mega-walk around the ward (still with a walker, but increased his distance threefold). I took him for a cruise around the hospital in a wheelchair for a few minutes for a change of scenery and man was it exciting. (Trust me, once you’ve been hanging around the hospital for that long, your threshold for excitement becomes much lower).

He was off oxygen when he was awake and was doing fine with that, but when he went to sleep the “low oxygen” alarm was sounding, so they put some on for night time.

Still watching the pee like a hawk, but nothing much is happening there. Come on kidneys.

Kirstin

He’s Walking, Yes Indeed

Still not a lot of pee, but a little is better than none. Joey was switched over to the 4 hour dialysis today and will have his next session on Monday.

Went for a loop around the ward today (with a walker). Progress!

He was pretty tired today, but his spirits were a little better. Thank you soooo much to everyone who sent a card; that was very helpful/uplifting.

Hope you have a fabulous Friday.

Kirstin

Don’t Mind Your Pees

Joey moved to the step down unit yesterday. He is down to one chest tube and his nasogastric (nose tube) came out as well. His voice was a little less hoarse and he’s starting to look more like himself.

Big news: he peed last night! Not a lot, but at least he could. I’m sure he would appreciate me broadcasting his bodily functions on the internet, but hopefully that means his kidneys are on the mend. We shall wait and see.

Yip-pee!

Kirstin

Extubation!

Joey was extubated today at 4:30. The tube is out from down his throat. Hurray! He still can’t talk, but at least he will be a little more comfortable now. There is talk of moving him to the acute care (step-down) unit tomorrow, depending on how the night goes.

It appears that he also lost about 9 kilos of fluid over night. We came in this morning and he is actually starting to look like himself again (emphasis on the starting…still 50 pounds to go).

Bummer news: kidney is still not functioning properly, but he was switched over to the 8 hour dialysis, so hopefully this will give him a bit more freedom physio-wise (and he can move his head now. Three days of having it at the same angle so the line didn’t kink was getting old fast).

He’s still feeling a tad crummy mentally though. It must be rough to be starting almost back at the beginning and to have to go through all of that pain for a second time. Wanted to thank everybody who has sent a card; they’re really helping to bring a little cheer to our neck of the woods.

Until next time, my darlings…

Kirstin

Cards are Always Nice

Today’s scoop:

Joey was disconnected briefly from dialysis today so that he could go for a test. When he got back, this gave the physiotherapist an opportunity to get him sitting up in the bed. It looked like hard work, but he was also able to stand today. Woo hoo! The more movement the better.

He was quite alert and clear today, which was exciting. The ventilator was switched over to pressure support (the setting where Joey initiates the breathing). That seemed to go well. Hopefully they will be able to extubate him in the next couple of days. Fingers are crossed.

Two of the chest tubes came out today. Two to go!

Today Joey asked what the date was. I think he was pretty shocked when we told him. Even though he is doing much better than he has been for a while, I think he’s feeling a bit discouraged (now he’s awake to feel that way). So if you’re feeling like giving him a pick me up, cards are always nice (since he can’t have flowers because he is a lung patient). We’re trying to keep him in a positive frame of mind, but the more people he has rooting for him the better! If you want to send a card, our address is:

1112A 361 Front St. West
Toronto, ON
M5V 3R5

Well, I’m off to the hospital again. Ciao bebes.

K