We had another really good visit from the lead surgeon and the big news of the day is that Michael can have soft food again! I practically ran to the cafeteria.😊 He’s already had some banana and a bit of scrambled egg so cross fingers, toes, eyes, whatever that the food behaves in his system. That was an hour ago and so far, so good. 

The doctor is still very satisfied with his progress and feels the fluid retention issue is continuing to slowly improve. His instructions for the day are to walk as much as Michael is up to walking and rest in between. The diabetic management team collected Michael’s endocrinologist’s contact information for me yesterday so they can talk with him about taking over his diabetes care after discharge and will also be back today with tailored dietary instructions and eventually his at-home medication information. 

Other than that, I don’t expect much else to go on today since Michael doesn’t have any particular immediate needs beyond monitoring and medication administration. He won’t need any post-surgical physical therapy because he gets around just fine and they don’t have any more tests or procedures lined up for him beyond the standard bloodwork he’s been getting every day. 

It’s been one hell of a ride but we’re miles and miles ahead from where we were a couple weeks ago when just sitting up to sip water was a Herculean effort. Michael is coming up on the two-year anniversary of his diagnosis this month and he has clawed and fought every step of the way to get here. I’m so proud of him and amazed at his perseverance every step of the way.

I’ll be back this evening to let you know how his day went. ❤️

Michael is still holding his own, trying to balance walking often with resting as much as possible. I don’t have a lot to report because, although it was a busy day of various teams coming in and out, it was mostly fact-finding missions so everyone can start organizing his at-home strategy for when he’s ready to leave. 

By the time I get back to the hospital in the morning, he should be off all IVs (again) except for the bag of nutrients and calories that are picking up the slack until he is able to eat more than Ensure. We had a couple of different conversations with doctors who specialize in blood sugar management today and they’d like to reintroduce puréed/soft foods again so if the main surgeon approves, that may happen in the very near future. 

Michael’s vitals are still great and the doctors say the labs they’ve been watching are still trending the way they want them to. They’re still helping him shed the fluid he’s retaining but that’s just something that has to run its course over time. There are stronger medications they could use to speed up the process but that could upset the delicate balance of his lab work. Since the fluid retention isn’t anywhere near a dangerous level for him, they’d like to leave it to sort itself out as much as possible. 

I’ll be back tomorrow before visiting hours start so I can catch the lead surgeon again when he comes through on rounds. I’ll keep you posted shortly after. ❤️

We had a great visit with the lead surgeon this morning and he’s happy with the way Michael has been progressing. He made some medication adjustments and told Michael to be sure to get up and walk around as much as possible to get the fluids out of his system. He confirmed that the tumor was Grade One, which is always good to hear. He also said he feels comfortable with his decision to skip the fluid removal procedure as discussed over the weekend because he believes a combination of walking and medication will get the job done Everything points to it working already so that’s good news. 

It was a short visit so the doctor could catch up after his time away but he’ll be back this afternoon for a check-in and to talk a little more about where we’re at with his discharge timeline. The doctor is clearly anxious to get Michael out the door and away from the germs and activity of a hospital unit but we know he won’t let him go before it’s prudent. 

Last night Michael said he’s bored, which was music to my ears because it means he’s beginning to feel strong enough to want to be active again. He has plenty of things to keep him occupied while he’s stuck sitting around and he won’t push himself more than he should because he’s listening to his body. But I’m glad his mind is ready to start running around the block. 

I’ll be back this evening to let you know how the day went. We’re crossing our fingers and toes that this is the week they kick him out before he becomes a permanent fixture and we end up as Miami residents. 🙂 ❤️