Post Opt Day 5

Today has been much better since the episode of nausea around 9 this morning. The medication she received for nausea about 10 made her quite drowsy so she has slept quite a bit. I also think the sleeping is a sign of less pain and a sign that her body is so tired from the past weeks. She needs all the sleep she can get. They moved us over to 6D finally which is more like a regular hospital floor on the transplant unit. Lacey rode the wheelchair over here then got up and walked over 300 feet down the hall and did some upper body range of motion with the therapists. They continue to be amazed at her strength and drive to get better. As for her attitude, it has been much better since this morning and i think the nausea was discouraging since that was one of the main problems prior to the surgery. The doctor came by and ensured her that the nausea was expected for several days but would get better. Just the thought that nausea before the surgery, then big operation, then more nausea after surgery seems to be discouraging because the surgery is supposed to "fix" it all. The doctors say things will get better but progress comes slowly since her entire stomach and intestines were rearranged and are just now beginning to "wake up." They did clamp off the nasogastric tube about 6 hours ago to see how her stomach would react and so far she's had no nausea since around 9. We'll continue to see how she does as the nausea medications wear off and her stomach continues to wake up. I would guess that if she does well for 24 hours with the tube clamped and begins to see signs of her intestines moving they should remove the nasal tube tomorrow. I have also noted quite a bit less drainage from her tube coming out of the wound and doctors said when drainage is less than 50ml a day, that tube could be removed. I think it was 150 yesterday so maybe by tomorrow it'll be able to be taken out also. Things are looking better, but Lacey still has quite a long recovery. Not sure how much longer we'll be hospitalized, i would guess at least 7 more days, then we'll spend about 7-10 days here in the city to see how her body reacts to food and activity before the doctors will let us return home. Please continue to pray for us as we continue heal and get closer to coming home. Pray for me specifically because i get homesick on vacations, so you must know i'm getting homesick here because this is far from an enjoyable vacation! God continues to amaze us daily. Hope you enjoyed the pictures, maybe they'll be more later.