Al's Blog-o-Sphere

Al continues to improve slowly. He’s still wired to a bunch of IV’s and drain tubes, but that’s to be expected. He’s not out of the woods yet, but there’s been no sign of the Wicked Witch or any Flying Monkeys.

I visited him late this morning and found him sitting up in a chair and eating applesauce and apple juice. Finally, food, such as it is. I know he was hungry even going into surgery. But that’s no time to eat!

While I was there, he was getting some of his meds and a nurse was doing his checks. Everything still looks good, but Al was tired and I left after a while to let him rest. Continue Reading…

Al is looking good, considering what he’s been through. He came off the ventilator today and I got visit him twice today.

He wanted his glasses and iPod, so he’s feeling good enough to do more than just lie there. With the tubes out of his throat, he’s talking and in pretty good spirits. He says his breathing is feeling better already, but there is some soreness yet. I thought he looked really good.

I visited again tonight, even though there is no shuttle service. I found out it’s not too bad of a walk and walked down for an evening visit. While I was there, they moved him into a bigger room with a TV. Where he was before, he was right by the doors coming into the unit and it was always busy. He’s now in a more off-the path area, so he’ll be able to rest better.

I’ll be back in the morning. I hope he’ll be even better to report then.

I finally got word that Albert was out of surgery. He was done a bit after 2:00pm, so he was in there nearly eight hours. He was one of two lung transplant they performed that day at UPMC. I have a hard time imagining a surgeon working eight hours straight in such a delicate operation. Of course, that’s my laymans’ impression, fueled by what I see on TV. The reality must be that they do so many of these here, that it’s like an assembly line and many people do pieces of the work. The main guy in charge just gets the credit. Continue Reading…

Al is still in surgery. That’s according to schedule. I’m hanging out in a “Family Waiting Room” where I was told to stay so the surgeon could find me if needed. It’s nice. There are a few other people here that spent the night. There are pillows and blankets to help make the couches comfortable. It was a nearly full house this morning when I first got here.

I got a nap for a while, the went to the cafeteria. I called the Family Services to let them know I was going there, just in case they needed me. They seem to have a system to keep tabs on you here, so I went along with it and called. Continue Reading…