Thursday

Mick took another stroll around the Hyman Patient Care Unit last night (perhaps more like 60 or 70 yards, rather than the previously estimated 100, but still—) and one more before your faithful blogger arrived this morning at 10:00. While he continues to be a model of progress, in terms of activity and mobility, today his more immediate concern was the lingering effect of nearly nine hours under anesthesia on the operating table. This, and the accumulated effect of his IV pain meds, made him pretty uncomfortable, and not very happy. A lot if not all of this will be remedied when they switch him to oral meds, but they can’t do that until everything’s working properly, which should be very soon. Around 4:00, he got into bed and had just gotten begun to doze when the Occupational Therapy crew showed up—not the beloved Kristin, but Erica, a gum-cracking sparkplug who could be in the chorus of Grease, along with an OT trainee and an RN trainee. They said it was time to get moving (he’d just been on yet another jaunt around the facility.) Knowing how he felt, I fully expected him to tell them to fuck off—but no, our Mick was not only game, he was charming. They challenged him to put the slipper-socks on himself. It was not easy, but he did it. They’d brought an adjustable cane for him to try out, and he took to it like a trouper. Then the whole crew of us—Mick, the three OT nerds, and me—went for a walk. I’ve known this man more than half my life, but he never fails to astound me. If you could substitute brocaded duds for the bathrobe and gown, and a scepter for the rolling IV stand, he would have looked like Louis XIV, with retinue, touring Versailles. Satisfied with his progress (but for the IV pole, they were ready to have him walk up stairs), the OT crew left. Minutes later a custom-length wood cane was delivered. Mick was by this time exhausted, got into bed, and was dozing peacefully by 5:00.

Perhaps most significantly, when the orthopedic surgeon came by early in the morning (a lifetime ago in terms of the progress I saw Mick make over the course of the day), he said Sunday might be going-home day. That’s something to look forward to.