August 1, 2011 - Walter Reed has come to NNMC
Today was a busy day for Jason, and a good day in the PACU. The doctors told us that his wounds are looking better all the time and that his progress is moving in the right direction. They took him down to the PACU early this morning and he was back up in his room before 10:30. They wanted to take a look at the dressings and be sure that all was going well, and it was. He won't have to head back down that way until Thursday, as long as there are no other complications along the way. Linda and I went to see him right at 10:30 this morning, so we arrived at his room, just about the same time he did.
Actually, this morning I decided my foot was feeling pretty good (for those that are not aware I had foot surgery back in December, 2010), so I decided to go for a run. I guess you'd call it a "test run." I didn't go far (less than a mile), as I am way out of shape, though it was far enough to test the foot. Not sure if I'll be running every morning, and I may simply take off every other morning. After the run I came back to the room and cooled down a bit, got Linda up, had breakfast, got dressed and we headed over to see Jason.
Once we arrived we saw he had a room full of people already, all wanting to check on how he was doing and make sure he was comfortable. Some of the doctors who have worked with him were there and they all were saying positive things about Jason and for lack of better description, Jason has achieved sort of a "rock star" status on the hospital wing. Jason was feeling pretty good, probably the best he has ever felt after coming back from the PACU, and indicated that he wanted to get out on his cart. This made the PT folks happy, and they came to help in getting him on to the table. Actually what it did was to place him in a position that allowed him to do some of the other exercises that they wanted him to do. They brought in heavier (4lbs) weights for him to work with and before he got out of the room, they had him doing reps with the dumb bells. The exercises only took a few minutes so he was out moving up and down the halls very nicely, and moving a little faster today. One of the more interesting things that happened was that just prior to moving out of the room we got to speak with one of the new nurses (I don't remember if he said he was an RN or an LPN) from the Walter Reed merger. Now talking to an Army nurse really, in itself, isn't much to speak of; its just that this one was named Ross. No relation, that I am aware of. He was just a very pleasant kind of guy and I guess Jason will have the opportunity to have him as his own nurse.
One of the visitors that came by earlier was from Beverly Young, Congressman Young's wife. She has actually been by before, and has taken an interest in Jason and his family, us. She is an amazingly energetic woman who is determined to make a positive difference in the lives of the wounded warriors. She stayed for a good visit and she and Linda hit it off very well, just as she made sure that I was aware that if there was anything we needed she was available to help. I did ask if she knew of any good deep-dish pizza, and before she left she provided us with a name of a pizzeria we're going to check out. There were other visitors today, such as the Marines from one of the local VFW posts, EOD Wounded Warriors, and The Red Cross volunteers. Otherwise, Jason's social activities were from his ventures out on the cart.
Mom and Dad (Linda and I) spent the day with Jason, and really didn't do much more, other than to work to keep him comfortable and to make sure all his needs were being met. Because of all the activity he had today and the exercise, he was pretty tired. He fell asleep before 9:00pm and we just let him sleep. I would like to thank you, all for your continued support and prayers. We have gotten to know and know of, many different groups of people who want to do what they can to help us, and pray for us, and that is very comforting.
Actually, this morning I decided my foot was feeling pretty good (for those that are not aware I had foot surgery back in December, 2010), so I decided to go for a run. I guess you'd call it a "test run." I didn't go far (less than a mile), as I am way out of shape, though it was far enough to test the foot. Not sure if I'll be running every morning, and I may simply take off every other morning. After the run I came back to the room and cooled down a bit, got Linda up, had breakfast, got dressed and we headed over to see Jason.
Once we arrived we saw he had a room full of people already, all wanting to check on how he was doing and make sure he was comfortable. Some of the doctors who have worked with him were there and they all were saying positive things about Jason and for lack of better description, Jason has achieved sort of a "rock star" status on the hospital wing. Jason was feeling pretty good, probably the best he has ever felt after coming back from the PACU, and indicated that he wanted to get out on his cart. This made the PT folks happy, and they came to help in getting him on to the table. Actually what it did was to place him in a position that allowed him to do some of the other exercises that they wanted him to do. They brought in heavier (4lbs) weights for him to work with and before he got out of the room, they had him doing reps with the dumb bells. The exercises only took a few minutes so he was out moving up and down the halls very nicely, and moving a little faster today. One of the more interesting things that happened was that just prior to moving out of the room we got to speak with one of the new nurses (I don't remember if he said he was an RN or an LPN) from the Walter Reed merger. Now talking to an Army nurse really, in itself, isn't much to speak of; its just that this one was named Ross. No relation, that I am aware of. He was just a very pleasant kind of guy and I guess Jason will have the opportunity to have him as his own nurse.
One of the visitors that came by earlier was from Beverly Young, Congressman Young's wife. She has actually been by before, and has taken an interest in Jason and his family, us. She is an amazingly energetic woman who is determined to make a positive difference in the lives of the wounded warriors. She stayed for a good visit and she and Linda hit it off very well, just as she made sure that I was aware that if there was anything we needed she was available to help. I did ask if she knew of any good deep-dish pizza, and before she left she provided us with a name of a pizzeria we're going to check out. There were other visitors today, such as the Marines from one of the local VFW posts, EOD Wounded Warriors, and The Red Cross volunteers. Otherwise, Jason's social activities were from his ventures out on the cart.
Mom and Dad (Linda and I) spent the day with Jason, and really didn't do much more, other than to work to keep him comfortable and to make sure all his needs were being met. Because of all the activity he had today and the exercise, he was pretty tired. He fell asleep before 9:00pm and we just let him sleep. I would like to thank you, all for your continued support and prayers. We have gotten to know and know of, many different groups of people who want to do what they can to help us, and pray for us, and that is very comforting.
Good news, good day! Keeping you guys in thought and prayers daily. Give the rock star a hug from us in Livermore!! Glad your foot is in running order George :-) Rob rode his bike to work and back today. Tomorrow I will get some exercise. We all have to be able to keep up with Jason when he gets out of there! Have a great Tuesday.
ReplyDeleteKaren and Rob W.
PS Giants need some inspiration or divine intervention. Maybe Jason will have to have a skype talk with them and set them straight.