Take a Breath and HOLD IT!

A little humor for today. Seth got to listen to a woman with an extremely THICK Midwestern accent yell this to another MRI patient while he sat with Alistair today. When you read the title, think nasally and VERY Midwestern...almost North Dakota (Fargo!). We were all giggling while he was doing his impersonation today...much needed laugh!

Today we got in around 8am. Alistair was beginning his day and we had fresh laundry for him, so we were able to offer him choices. First were his shorts, where he chose "the ones Grandma washed." Then on his shirts, he chose "Ninjago," without us providing that term first! We got him dressed and were getting ready to do teeth when it seemed that an entourage of doctors were going to come in. So we paused for a moment. While we sat there, Alistair was looking around and looking at his airplane photos and started trying to talk to us. Eventually the following exchange took place...keeping in mind his speech is quiet and very interrupted and/or merely mouthed and I played stupid to get him talking:

A: "I wish I had a P-51 Mustang, it is my favorite airplane"

K: "Oh yeah, that would be cool! Who is your favorite pilot?"

A: "Chuck Yeager"

K: "Oh right, what plane did he fly?"

A: "X-1"

K: "Who flew the Kitty Hawk? Some brothers?"

A: "Wright Brothers"

K: "We saw that on vacation in Washington DC, right?"

A: "Yes"

K: "Amelia Earhart had a plane too, right? The Lockheed...?"

A: "Vega"

None of this information was fed to him and it wasn't hanging on the wall anywhere. It was so great to "hear" him talk about one of his favorite subjects. Grandma helped him brush his teeth, clean up his mouth and put on some lip balm. Then she told him he was so nice and clean and kissable. He puckered up his lips and waited for a kiss! Of course Grandma obliged! 

After that the morning got super busy with doctors and trying to figure out MRI details and when his OR visit would be to check out his incision and coordinating the two. In the meantime, Seth and I had a Care Conference with his team of docs to discuss what is going on and what the plan is for Alistair until we head back to Seattle. It was very productive and we left with a few goals in mind that everyone felt would be attainable in the next day or so...including getting him OUT of the ICU and into a patient room. A change of scenery would be a welcome change!

Alistair finally was called for his MRI. We successfully argued against him having to be sedated by guaranteeing that he could lay still if Seth could sit with him. We asked for ear plugs for him to dampen the loud noises of the MRI machine. They were still a little nervous and I asked if he could have Benedryl or something that would make him drowsy. They thought that was a great idea (and hadn't thought that!) and asked the MRI techs. They were cool with it and decided to give him Versed; the same stuff he had pre-op that made him loopy. Seth said he sailed through the MRI, no problem. After the MRI, they were able to whisk him right into the OR for his incision exam.

After about 90 minutes, they called us down where Dr. Dearani told us he was able to open up Alistair's incision and get a good look at his sternum. It looked great, nice and hard and the titanium ties looked great too. Phew, no bone infection! They debrided the wound, closed up the closest layer to the sternum and have resealed it with a sterile dressing and placed a wound vac (a negative pressure dressing). He does have a bit of a fever and they have collected cultures on his blood and lung secretions, just to be on the safe side. He has been on prophylactic antibiotics and they have prescribed others as things have popped up until they are given a reason to discontinue use. So any infection that is trying to crop up should quickly be eradicated. He was re-intubated for the procedure, which is a bummer. What Dr. Dearani had to do would have been uncomfortable for him under light anesthesia. But they were able to keep the meds light and not knock him out for days like his initial procedure. Even when we left, he was starting to stir. We are really hoping he will be able eat breakfast in the morning and get back to establishing a routine.

As he got back to his room and was getting settled in, we sat and waited to hear from Neurology about his MRI results. We finally got called back to his room. He was still intubated as they were waiting for him to wake-up more and over-breathe the vent. We asked about the MRI results and our nurse told us that Neurology was gone for the night and they would touch base with us tomorrow regarding the results. We read this to mean that although there might be something found, it wasn't important enough to rush back in to have someone talk to us tonight. That's a good thing!

We are still working on options to get Alistair home. At this point we are probably looking at not leaving until Sunday or Monday as Dr. Dearani wants to see him improve with his fever and see his incision heal some. We also feel that a few more days of intensive OT/PT would be very beneficial to him tolerating travel home. Some wonderful people that Seth and I have had the great fortune to meet through his jobs have set-up a fundraising site to help us defray the costs of getting Alistair home. Our insurance won't cover travel expenses due to the services Alistair needs being offered where we are now. They don't mind us moving to another facility, but we have to provide the way. We also know that there is going to be some additional costs in rehabing Alistair back to himself...both inpatient and outpatient. If you would like to help or share the site, here is the link: http://www.youcaring.com/alistair-hennessey-and-family-397375

Some things finally went Alistair's way today, which was much needed. We are feeling pretty good tonight. I actually finished my dinner...lately it has been a struggle to eat much in the evening as I have been drained and emotional. Here's to the next few days being unremarkable from a medical standpoint and exciting from a rehab standpoint!