Wednesday 10:45 pm

Today was a busy day. I (Laurie) arrived at the hospital about 9:30 am. Shortly after I got there the orthopedic surgeon (Dr. Barker) came in. We looked at X-rays and he explained his reasons for not thinking surgery necessary. Dad has three hairline fractures in his pelvic region. One in the sacrum, and two others, one that is near the hip joint. Dr. Barker requested physical therapists to come and help Dad stand today. He wants Dad to move around to make sure there isn't any movement where the fractures are.

Physical therapy came and helped Dad stand. He did great. He shouldn't put any weight on his left side.

Then, Dr. Peterson and another doctor came. They discussed the affibulation. Dad's heart doing that vibrating thing again. Dr. Wong who came in later in the day suggested that the fall could have caused it to return.

Dr. Wong ordered Dr. Dahl to perform a test (can't remember the name), but basically they put Dad out (no pain) and put a tube down his throat. They then did an ultrasound of his heart to see if there were any blood clots. There were not any, so they shocked his heart 5-6 times to try to get it to return to it's normal rhythm. This was unscuccessful. Dad has been put on a very low dose of an anti-coagulant (blood thinner). This is to avoid clots, but also a small enough dose to not cause internal bleeding.

After all that Dad was able to rest for a bit. When I returned this evening he had some pain in his back. This was due to the muscles still doing their job inspite of the broken ribs. With some movement and massage he was doing much better. He has had more blood work tonight to watch his white blood cell count. He has a small fever, about 100 degrees. The trauma doctor says it is most likely due to the inflamation caused by the chest tube. Dad has been given tylenol and a laxative and a stool softener. You know the reason for that. Is that too much information? Hey, I am just relaying the details.

Marilyn and Larry McLay stopped by tonight. Dad seems in good spirits and very sleepy. Bishop Beach stopped by too. Liz Wixom called and Karen Cole brought us dinner. I am exhausted, but feel a lot of hope that tomorrow will be a good day. Dad seems to be doing well and is diligent about doing what the doctors ask him to do. He is craving some good food.