We have had a good day today. Ben was able to sleep soundly for a few hours last night, which helped him feel a little better. I also slept last night at home (thanks to my sweet sister who drove me there and stayed with me!).
When I arrived back at the ICU at 8am, Ben was finishing breakfast. Soon thereafter, a doctor came by to check on his progress. The doctor reassured us that the MRI from last night looked good, and he reiterated that it looked like Dr. Asher had been able to perform a total resection of the tumor. We were all relieved to hear that things look good inside. :-) He also had Ben perform a few motions to see his ability, and he thought Ben was doing great!
The nurse started removing most of Ben's wires at this point so that he would be ready to go to a new room when one became available.
Our wonderful friends arrived to visit at around 10am, and as soon as we went back to see Ben again, they were ready to move him out of the ICU! Ben walked himself all the way across his ICU room to the bed waiting in the hallway without any assistance! The nurse helped him up, and spotted him as he walked, but Ben was able to make it on his own, and it was awesome!
He is now in what they call a 'step-down' unit. His vitals only have to checked every 4 hours (instead of monitored constantly...Ben is definitely glad that he doesn't have a blood pressure cuff going off every single hour on the hour!), and we are all able to visit him at once. It gets crowded, but in the best way. :-) He is able to get in and out of bed with our help, and the nurse said he is welcome to try walking the halls if he feels up to it. He has walked across the room several times this afternoon.
The pain in his neck and shoulders is still very bothersome, but we are hopeful it will continue to lessen. He has been eating more and more at each meal, which is good to see. I am hoping he will nap some this afternoon.
More updates to come!
Love,
Jesse
P.S. The picture is from this morning in the ICU. I was so happy to see him again!
Thanks for all the updates Jesse. Ben, you, and your family have been in our prayers and we are glad to hear he's doing well!
ReplyDeleteJon & Katie Doyle