Been a Rough Couple of Days

It is sometimes hard to remember that after surgery it is not just getting better.  There are good days and bad days.  Then it is even harder to remember that after a surgery as huge as Trent's was that the progress is veerryy slow.  We are dealing with some mental/emotional issues and that takes its toll on us.

Trent is getting around pretty well now.  He went from using a walker for a few days, to a crutch for a couple days, and has been using his cane for the last week.  He can get to the bathroom unassisted and shower mostly by himself.  I have been carefully washing his back with antibacterial surgical scrub to make sure we don't have any problems at the incision site.  It is all healing nicely but is really tender still.

We have also been monitoring his vitals and paying close attention to his heart rate.  I had noticed that his heart rate was staying pretty consistent in the 120's but occasionally would jump to 140.  That is higher than I had hoped it would be after restarting the Metoprolol after leaving the hospital.  Tuesday night I decided I would call Jan at Dr. Carr's office and check in on what "normal" is at this point in the recovery.  Wednesday morning before I got a chance to call Jan, Jenn, Dr. Carr's nurse, called to check on Trent.  I told her about the heart rate and asked about giving Trent some anti anxiety medicine again.  When we left the hospital Dr. Carr told me not to give it to Trent but didn't say why.  I assumed it was because he had done pretty well without it during his stay.  Jenn relayed the info/questions on to Kelly Nagasawe, Dr. Carr's associate (Dr. Carr is out of the country right now).  Somewhere along the line the info got mixed up.  I got a call from a very concerned Jan, wondering why Trent was not being rushed to the Huntsman if his heart rate was 160.  Thank goodness that was not the case!

Dr. Carr wanted Trent to get some labs done to see if he needed blood, which would raise his heart rate.  We had to make the trek down to the medical center to have that done.  Trent was pretty iffy that day and the journey was hard.  Thankfully, the labs came back looking okay.  Really, most of his results were just barely outside the normal range which is not to shabby after all he has been through.  After a call to Trent's cardiologist, it was decided to double the dose of Metoprolol for a few days and see what that did.  I was also told not to give him any anti anxiety meds because those can be sedative and with only one lung, that is not such a smart idea.  So we have been using oils and soft music to try to keep him calm.  It has been a tough go though, the gravity of what he has been through is starting to hit Trent.  As for myself, I try as hard as I can not to think about it.  Too scary and dramatic, so not the life I thought we were in for.

Today his heart rate is much better at 110 but I am still hoping it will get closer to normal.  We see Dr. Mitchell on Tuesday.  Hopefully Trent is feeling better by then.