It’s been a busy morning for Michael so this update is a little late, but everything is going well and he hasn’t had any issues or setbacks. Since his tube came out this morning, Michael has been enjoying his water with the gusto of someone rescued from the desert and he’s tolerating it just fine. He had his first water around 7:00 and by 10:00 they said he was getting a full lunch tray of clear foods! If that goes well, he graduates to bland solids and then protein-rich, low-fat regular food.

After the big water moment, Michael got up and showered then we walked a couple laps around the unit. He’s no longer a fall risk so they said he’s free to walk as much as he wants. I figured we’d slowly creep around the unit, but no. He cruised down the hallway at a regular clip and, had it not been for the fancy hospital gown, he could have been mistaken for a visitor. 

The doctor looking after him while his main doctor is out of town says he’s doing wonderfully (he was in the OR so he’s been with Michael from the beginning). He allowed the final IV to come out and, though many patients are routinely sent home with their temporary drain, they may also remove that soon too. He also said his incision looks great and there are no signs of internal leakage at any of the re-connection sites. 

There’s still no word on when he gets to go home but we seem to be getting to that point quickly. They don’t speculate on release dates so patients don’t get their hopes up but they did tell us before surgery of the milestones they watch for and Michael has been leaping over those hurdles like a champ so it won’t be long now. 

This afternoon will be all about seeing how his food settles and also trying to get more sleep. The doctor will probably be back at least once more as well. If you had told me last week or even Monday (especially Monday!) that Michael would be zipping through the halls and ducking into the shower unassisted by Friday I would have laughed myself silly. He is blowing my mind with his recovery process, his attitude, and his rapid healing. 

Is it weird to say I’m proud of him? Well, I am. The last two years have been harder on him than anyone reading this will ever know. He endured ghastly side effects from various treatments, hundreds of tests, multiple letdowns from surgeons who didn’t feel comfortable taking on his case, and endless fear that he’d run out of time to find a definitive treatment. He never lost hope and kept going even when it looked like that hope was running out. Michael has referred to cancer as a battle and I’ve never seen a more heroic warrior in my life. 

I’ll be back tonight after 9:00 with the next update. ❤️