….It’s 5 o’clock here on the East Coast at Hopkins and we’re drinkin some apple juice-LOTS AND LOTS OF APPLE JUICE. It’s Kevin’s new cocktail. He loves it, and as long as they say he can keep drinking it, and letting me drain it from his bag, we’ll keep doing it!
We met with a Dr. today about the fluid that has continued to fill around Kevin’s heart. They are closely monitoring it, as well as his blood pressure and heart-rate. They may do what’s called a paracardial window to drain the area again, but at this point, I believe they just want to keep monitoring it before taking him back to the OR.
Kevin is having a good day-he’s swallowing very well and doesn’t have as much trouble coughing today which is nice. The biggest issue Kevin is having is rest at night. The pain medicine is making him have some crazy, Stephen King-like dreams and makes him slightly delusional about what he sees in the dark in his room. Needless to say, it’s hard to get more than a few GOOD hours of sleep. Pray that the pharmaceutical team can come up with a good pain medication that will him rest and relax without giving him the adverse side effects.
We had some nice visits with pastors Jay and Curtiss which was so nice. It was great to see them, and comforting for Kevin to have prayer and visits with them. Our close friends Marty and Kristi, who brought down Linda and Ken, Kevin’s family, also visited with us, and took Linda and Ken to the aquarium for the afternoon. A nice treat to get some enjoyment while here in Baltimore.
I have spent all day with Kev, which was nice just to have some alone time together, minus all the nursing staff coming and going! I got to the gift shop and picked up a tye-dye Hopkins tshirt to show my support as well as a cancer wrist band. I’m in search for calming beach posters/pictures/things to place in Kevin’s room. Being that he’ll have to look at one wall in particular for the next several weeks, or several months, I figure we’ll make it as zen-like as possible for his recovery!
We’re having fun just hanging out and being together. I’m wrapping up the last minute logistics for our big BBQ next weekend. I plan to be up in Lancaster all day Saturday the 23rd for the BBQ to see everyone and give my thanks for all you have done. I hope to see most of you there! In the next month, I’ll be traveling up several more times to start packing up the apartment. I’ll soon have a list of things we’ll want to sell before moving our belongings in with my parents, so keep posted, as you may need some of these!
Have a wonderful TGIF, and enjoy this beautiful weekend ahead.