Finally out of ICU

Thursday and Friday Bruce had to stay in ICU. On Wed they were planning to move him then Thursday morning the Nephrologist changed the orders because Bruce was nauseous and thought they should keep eye on him in ICU. Thursday night Bruce felt worse and got very swollen with fluid. He got no sleep because he threw up several times from dinner and they were doing major construction outside his room window in middle of night. Friday morning he was in a terrible mental state. They gave him dialysis that morning to help with the swelling. They were trying to hold off on the dialysis because they wanted the kidney to function by itself but he really needed it. After it was over he got his typical headache, took some fiorcet, and then he felt much better. He ate dinner and he was more positive. They put in orders to move around noon and it took until 10pm before he got a room.

Today is Saturday and he is back on the transplant floor in nicer room. He has been unhooked from all the IVs and monitors again and catheter is gone. He is finally free to take shower and move around. The incision pain is much better and he hasn't used pain medicine in 2 days. Bruce's spirits have been lifted so much from the changes happening today. Thursday and Friday were really rough days. I had a hard time being in the ICU room for that long feeling like he would have been progressing more if he could get out of there. Not to mention it was a small room, everyone gathered in front of it for social hour, there was a phone on the wall right next to his door that would ring forever before someone answered, it was right next to the pediatric ICU and I could here babies crying which was enough to push me over the edge and make me have to leave for a break. So I am feeling positive today and relieved to be back on this floor and see some progress. All of the nurses on this floor have been excellent.

All of the Dr's say that there is no way to judge for certain how the kidney is functioning until sunday because it was put through such shock and then he had dialysis yesterday. The only thing they have to go on right now is urine output and that is very good. His creatin is 8.8 today. It was 5.1 before they did the second surgery. So it has a long way to go to get below 1. He may get to leave before then if they see it coming down everyday and all levels of everything else look good. There is no real time frame because everyone says it could go slow or fast and they can't give a real answer. His right leg is swollen so they need to do a scan to make sure there isn't a clot. Other than that it is just a waiting game to see the blood work results everyday and output.