Hodgepodge

Chillin' like a villian and his name ain't Dillon.



Hello blog friends!

Benjamin has been in a much better mood today than yesterday! He has not required any pain medicine (though he did get some Tylenol for a fever). Here's the run down:

• His temperature has ranged from 96 to 100.5 today. They checked his blood for infection (none detected) and for hypothyroidism. His thyroid levels were *slightly* elevated. But even at that, the numbers didn't seem to jive. So they contacted endrocrinology. They think that he has something called "euthyroid sick syndrome," which basically means high thyroid levels because he's still recovering from his surgery. However, if his temperature continues to fluctuate, they will give him antibiotics for a couple of days just in case there is an infection somewhere. (They *just* took it and it was 98.6!!!)


• He is now on three medicines: Lasix, Enalapril, and Digoxin. The Lasix (which he's been on for months) is a dieuretic to help his heart not have to work as hard. The Enalapril (a blood pressure medicine) is to help relax his arteries so that the blood flows more easily and in turn the heart can do its job better. The Digoxin is used to help the heart utilize the calcium in his body so that it doesn't have to work as hard. The latter two are being used because his left ventricle is not contracting like it should be. All three cardiologists we spoke to today are fairly confident that this could all be as a result of his still needing time to recover from the surgery. He is not recovering as quickly as we thought he might, but he is doing better each day.


• We expect to be here a few more days. They will most likely do another echo on Saturday to see if the medicine is helping. They will then determine if they can set a timeline for sending us home. I would think the *earliest* we would come home would be Sunday with a very, very slim chance it could be Saturday. I am still thinking no earlier than Monday, but maybe I am just learning not to get my hopes up.

On the Matthew-front, he continues to make me laugh. I have found it a nice distraction to laugh with him (and at him), always looking for funnies to put in my blog. I made it a habit today to write things down in a small maroon notebook that I want to document on the blog. Here are some highlights for the day:

• As you have seen in pictures, Benjamin has a stuffed giraffe that my Aunt Eunice gave him. He really likes it and has had it with him the whole time he's been recovering. Matthew, a few days ago, mistakenly referred to it as a dinosaur. I berated him, rightfully so, and told him that it is not a dinosaur; it is clearly a giraffe. Since then, when nurses or techs have made comments about the giraffe, I sometimes add, "The giraffe that Daddy calls a dinosaur." Today I said it in front of the two nurses while they were checking B's stats. Matthew and I were both just kind of hanging out in the room. About five minutes later, I went over to the computer and saw this on the screen: http://www.giraffes.org/giraffelink.html Evidently someone wanted to be sure he wasn't mistaken.
  
• After going down to the cafeteria to pick us up some food, he returned at about 2:15. He told me that he had to return at 3:00. I asked why, and he replied,"For a special treat!!" Blank stare from me. Then he said, "Brownies and ice cream!!!" He's like a kid at Christmas when it comes to brownies and ice cream. There was evidently a sign that said brownies and ice cream would be served from 3-5 today. He left in plenty of time. I waited. And waited. At 3:10 my phone rang. "Hello?" "Yeah, uhh..I guess 3:00 was more of an estimate. I'm just waiting for them to bring them out. I'm hanging out behind some foliage watching their every move." I found out later that he was leaving his friend Chris a voicemail a minute or so later when a cafeteria worker, who was evidently aware of his brownie-stalking, found him in the foliage to tell him the brownies were being served. In his haste to hang up and get in line, he committed the biggest phone faux pas known to man. He subconsciously thought he was talking to his wife and said "I love you" to a male friend. At least it was a voice mail and he had time to explain. He brought up two heaping bowls of brownies and ice cream. He asked which one I wanted. I said I didn't care. He spent a good 30 seconds hunkered down over the bowls examining their content. He eventually announced that one bowl had more ice cream and the other one had more brownie. I chose the one with more brownie. As we ate them (DELICIOUS), I asked him if there were many people down getting brownies and ice cream. "Not really," he said, "I was the first one in line." No wonder. Turns out all that hiding out in fake plants really paid off.
  
• While we were eating and I was trying to read a funny portion of Big Mama's blog aloud to him, I evidently wasn't wolfing down my dessert as quickly as he was. He licked his spoon, reached for my bowl and announced, "One caveat of eating brownies and ice cream is that whoever finishes first gets to eat the other's food." After a dead stare, I proceeded to remind him that we are not at the office; he does not need to use office-speak with me. He said, "Do you know what caveat means?" "Yes I do." "Then why can't I use it?" It's the same thing as when he tries to slip phrases by me like "buy-in" and "on board,"as in, "Let's work on the budget; I need your buy-in" or "I'm not on board with Chinese food for dinner."
  
• I am still taking prenatal vitamins b/c I'm breastfeeding. My prescription ran out yesterday, so I called a CVS down the road to refill it there. I spoke with a girl named Peaches. (You can't make this stuff up.) After I hung up, I told Matthew to guess the name of the girl I spoke with. (We play the "Guessing Game" a LOT.) He finally narrowed it down to a food. And he blurted out, "MASHED POTATO!" I was cracking up. Then I told him it was a fruit. He pretended he was on the phone and said, "You're talking to Banana!" Sigh. The sad thing is, after Mashed Potato and Banana, 'Peaches' lost its humor. I can't win for losing!

Okay, enough. It's 6:45 here. Benjamin has had a MUCH better day today. He has eaten and slept pretty well. His pain has been minimal. And we have Ashley as a night nurse the next TWO nights!! I love her! The Office is on tonight, so I'm especially excited. There's been nothing on TV lately, so this is exciting.

Oh, yes, Susan, we are still sleeping on the twin bed. Only, to its credit, it's more than a twin bed. It's a faux double. Actually, it hasn't been all that bad. The good thing about it is that it has a side to it b/c it just pulls out (as is evident from the pictures). I sleep up against the side. Which is fine with me b/c side-sleeping is my preference. What's sad for Matthew is that, even on this tiny bed, I still have to hold a pillow next to me. I can't sleep without it!