Well...As they say, 3 steps forward, 2 steps back...

 This week's update is not as good as last week's. Dad is back at UMass Medical as of this afternoon (9/11).

As you know, Marion left dad's on Tuesday and Amy left Wednesday afternoon. Auntie Jeanne moved in on Wednesday to stay with dad until he is cleared to drive and resume his normal activities.

Toby was at dad's yesterday evening, he said dad seemed a bit tired, when Toby went to leave, Auntie Jeanne came out and asked him to help dad get up out of the chair and into bed. A little later Marion texted us to let us know that she had talked to dad and he sounded a little "weird". Amy called and talked to Auntie Jeanne and dad. Dad said the felt like he might be getting another UTI (he has experience in this department so he knows how his body feels). They made an executive decision and had Auntie Jeanne call 911 to have him taken to Harrington Hospital. Toby met them at the house and followed dad to the hospital (where he slept in a chair next to dad in the ER until he had to go in to work this morning, poor Toby 😴).

Dad had his blood tested and had an EKG. He had a mild UTI so they started him on medication for that. The EKG showed a delay on the heart's reset between beats, so they did an ultrasound. The ultrasound did not show much so they did another EKG. The second EKG came back better than the first and they scheduled a third for about an hour later. The nurse said his magnesium was also low, which may have been contributing to the heart's delayed repolarization (reset). After the 3rd EKG the delayed repolarization was gone, but the doctor was concerned about excess fluid around the heart so they decided to keep him overnight (overnight being a relative term as I believe by then it was about 5:00am and Toby going to go home and change and then head to work). 

Around 1:00-ish today the nurse called Amy and let her know that they had decided to transfer him back over to UMass Medical so Dr. Walker (surgeon) could follow up with him there (he was supposed to meet with her today anyway for his 2 week post-op).

I spoke to dad around 3:00 pm (West coast time, so 6:00 pm for you East coast folks). He sounded really good and chipper. He said he was feeling much better, he thinks the fluid was reduced (if not gone) as he peed a lot after they got him on the antibiotics. He was waiting for his supper while we were talking.

We do not know at this point how long he will stay in the hospital. Hopefully, long enough to clear the UTI and get him a little rest. Auntie Jeanne is back at her house until dad goes back home. We are REALLY glad she was there to help him out. As I said before, that's what big sisters are for, making their younger siblings do what there supposed to! Thank you Auntie Jeanne for being the wiser sibling and calling for help.

That is all I have for now. I will keep you posted when I have more information. For now, know that we appreciate you all, and if you had any plans to visit this weekend put those plans on hold for a bit.

Becky

UPDATE @ 9:45 pm (East Coast):

Just got this text from dad:

Nurse practitioner just came to see me. He explains it all. During open heart surgery (OHS) they pump extract fluid in the chest cavity to keep it moist, they give you lassis following OHS to get rid of the fluid, 6days worth. Sometimes you need more, my breathing problems that my lung cavity has been retaining this fluid and my lung couldn’t expand. Harrington gave me a heavy dose of diuretic this morning as did UMass today. I will get anotherxray tomorrow. If there’s fluid remaining they will most likely put in drains for a day or two. Nothing I did or did not do caused this. Amen 🙏sleep well.

This is one time when extra water intake is not good.