Nelson underwent open heart surgery this morning to replace his mitral valve. He was transferred to the PICU (peds ICU) at about 3pm and extubated (breathing tube removed) soon after. I just got back from visiting him. He is groggy/sleepy, but he looks ok (all things considered!). He still has a number of lines and tubes in place.
He will be in the hospital through the weekend, according to the latest update from the surgical staff. He may be coming home around Tuesday (though that's a rough estimate).
One cool thing: the PICU just got new beds (in anticipation of the new Children's Hospital opening in January)...and the beds have a list of phrases that can be spoken to the patient in about 25 languages. Phrases like, "take a deep breath" or "we will check your blood pressure now" (something like that).
I'm sure he would appreciate visitors once he's feeling better. This would be really helpful to us over Friday-Sunday in particular. If anyone is interested in visiting him and spending a little bit of time, ,just let us know. The PICU staff has asked that we provide a list of people who will be visiting.
It has been incredibly encouraging to all of us, and especially Nelson, to see so many people who are asking about him and praying for him. Our pastor had him (and us) come up front on Sunday to pray for him, kids have drawn cards for him, people have donated items, and all of these kindnesses have really helped to boost his spirit.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Ben
-- President, Thriving Villages International
Thriving Villages website: www.thrivingvillages.org
Thriving Villages blog: http://thrivingvillages.blogspot.com/
It is not enough to claim harmlessness; we are to accomplish positive good, and those who do not are wasting God's resources. John G. Stackhouse
No comments:
Post a Comment