Slim was able to sit up in a chair for longer periods this morning. The team of physicians rounded on him this morning and set up the game plan for the next few days. They are still concerned about the excessive fluid. To date they have drained over 3 liters out of his system. They are going to change the diuretic medication to see if it well help flush more fluid out. They are still concerned about the Mitral valve not working properly. This could be part of the problem with fluid build up. If the heart can't push blood as efficiently as it is suppose to, then bloods flows backwards into the heart... So this can then impact how the rest of his circulatory system pushes blood/fluids. He will have the swallow eval and start cardiac rehab later today. They don't anticipate that he will be moved to the step down unit until tomorrow or even Thursday.
The staff has asked the we NOT call his room. First, the phone is not located next to his bed. There are too many lines etc. that it could get tangled in and so they have it off to the side. Secondly, They either have to get him up out of bed to answer the phone or the nurse needs to take time to do this. This takes them away from patient care. Third, and most importantly to me, is that he is just getting his voice back and needs to not use it too much. Talking also causes him to expend energy. He then gets exhausted and then needs to rest. Which could limit his ability to perform those tasks that he really needs to focus on in order to get better.....such as cardiac rehab.
Will post later tonight.
Jaren
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