Update

First off, my dad's surgery went as well as they could hope. Thank you for all your prayers on his behalf. He still needs them. His recovery has been going slower than anticipated. They only did a triple instead of a quadruple bypass and the surgeon was really happy with the outcome. At first he was doing really well and improving ahead of schedule. He has now fallen behind and is still in the ICU. I spent the entire day holding his hand at the hospital on Saturday, as my mom got sick Friday night and didn't want to pass the germs along. The balloon pump and the breathing tube were taken out yesterday and he is allowed to sit up. The hope was that he would have been walking around today and out of the ICU, but he's not. His blood pressure has been too high because of his diabetes and they're playing with different medications to keep both under control.


My mom was allowed to be in the room with Dad today as long as she wore a mask. When I was there yesterday he had Conference on and wanted the TV on all day. I assume it was for something to distract him from the tube crammed down his throat. He was different today. He did not want the TV on and did not want anyone to speak to him unless it was necessary. That included my mom, who he hadn't seen while he was conscious since before the surgery. It makes his heart beat faster when people talk to him. He has also had problems getting enough breath. When I dropped my mom off at the hospital today she found him gripping the bed rails and in a bit of a panic. He spent his day concentrating on his breathing. When I picked my mom up at the end of the day she said he was more relaxed, but tired. That was how it seemed when I sat with him this afternoon. I just wish I could be there with him to do what I can for his comfort and happiness, but that isn't possible. I also wish he was in the Provo hospital so we could be closer, but he's in Murray.

Please continue to keep him and my mom in your prayers. They had projected that he would need to be in the hospital for a week to ten days and we would like him to be out within that time frame rather than for a longer time.