By early afternoon Jeff was off all supplemental oxygen, off all medication to regulate his blood pressure and heart rate. Just like that, after having his heart handled, cut and repaired it just took right back to its work and resumed normal duty without any problem. Thank you God!
Late afternoon he was down to only two IV lines in place and was able to make the big transfer from the Coronary Intensive Care Unit to a "regular" room on the cardiac floor/ward. He is comfortably settled into room 667 of St. Vincent Hospital, Portland. Getting off the elevator on the sixth floor brought back a flood of memories to me....
I saw a nervous new graduate nurse following her nurse mentor off that same elevator and approaching the nurses' station, listening as her mentor introduced her to many as, "This is Christine, our new grad, joining us on 6 East." As we got Jeff into bed in his new room I remembered dozens of patients I had cared for in rooms just like this one and I felt a familiarity in where to place his items, etc. I chuckled to myself.
How like my God to bring me "full circle" in a sense. My very first nursing job after graduation was on the 6th floor of St. Vincent Hospital. I never imagined then it would one day be the cardiac floor (it wasn't when I worked there) and that I would be caring for my husband after open heart surgery in that very space. Had I been able to see behind the veil I would have seen that was just one small piece of all that God was orchestrating and arranging in preparation for all people and things to be in place for Jeff to have his surgery now, there.
Jeff covered amazing mileage on the road of recovery yesterday. For that we are very grateful. The unfortunate part is that he felt miserable all along the way because of prolonged effects of the drugs used during surgery and in the immediate hours afterwards. But by late evening he was finally able to take a bit of nourishment and felt his head was clearing. We prayed for a good sleep and off I went to get my own rest.
We are doing well, thanking the Lord together many times a day for the privilege of being on this holy experience. We rest in God's "healing, holy Presence." We are grateful that people all around the world are lifting us and our needs in prayer, and we take pleasure in telling Jeff's caregivers they are being covered in prayer. We continue to strive to steward this chapter in our lives for God's honor and glory.
Today's goals:
- get up and moving, steady on his feet and able to walk on his own
- increase his food and fluid intake
- get adequate sleep when needed
Christine
3 comments:
O my goodness. I love the 6 East story.
Marcile
Me too! Brought tears to my eyes. Love to you both.
Sounds like he's still doing great. And oh those memories as young nurses. In high school, all my teachers talked me out of being a nurse and then in college I decided to do what I wanted to do since I was 4. I couldn't have chosen a more fulfilling career. Give Jeff my best and we are praying for things to continue to go well.
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