Post-surgery: Day 2

Well, this post-surgery phase of Steve's adventure seems to be having its ups and downs. I spoke to Dr. St. Andre, the head of the ICU and a good friend of mine (how fortunate is that?!), last evening and he said Steve was doing very well. He said they expected him out of the ICU by today and maybe even sitting up and taking a few steps. In fact, he did leave the ICU last evening and aside from being in some pain things looked like they were going well.

Fast forward to tonight...Steve called! He sounded groggy but pretty good. He said that aside from the pain things were going fine until this afternoon when he developed a blood clot in his lung. I know from watching House that's not a good thing. Steve said that he was heading back to surgery to have a filter put in his hip area to stop further clots from leaving his legs and traveling to other parts of his body. He still had his fighting spirit and was hoping to be out of the ICU quickly. We talked a little about life without a stomach and concluded restaurant spending would be way down! He is still positive, maintaining his sense of humor and determined to win each stage of his battle.

Dr. St. Andre called shortly after I spoke to Steve and gave me all the medical details of the filter surgery. The surgery itself should take an hour or two. He said that the clot in his lung should break up and not be a worry. That's about all the medical information I could absorb.

Keep your fingers crossed that this little extra surgery is quick and painless, and he's back out of the ICU quickly. I know he is anxiously awaiting a few visitors but wants to be out of the ICU first. Thanks for all the well wishes!