Katy went in to the OR early this morning, and was back in her room by 10:30. The procedure seemed to go well, but the next few days will reveal how well. Her chest tubes are draining nicely, and there doesn’t seem to be any active bleeding. She was awake for some of the visits, but usually let me know she was tired, kissed me, and then fell asleep. They are giving her fentonel (spelling?) and Neurotin (spelling?) for her pains. Katy had a different level of amnesia, today. She remembered Kayla and Ken visiting, and remembered that the kids went to the zoo yesterday, but didn’t remember that she was in Dallas or why. I think that indicates that she is selectively remembering certain items. She may not be ready to face the medical side of things just yet.
She is scheduled to be first in to the OR tomorrow, and then the doctors will observe her for the next few days. They will be looking at her blood gas levels, and seeing if her body responds positively to the treatments. If all goes well, they may remove one of the chest tubes as early as Wednesday. I have asked that they delay putting in the trachiostomy for now. We discussed the benefits vs. risks, and I feel that I would like to wait and see if any other complication arises. If none do, then the trachiostomy shouldn’t be needed.
I want to say “thanks” to Jen, Britt, Megan, Kelly,Sarah, Betta, Pat, Lucille, Tina, Ike, and all of the others who have given so selflessy to help our family. These folks have done so much, and I will be forever grateful. I also want to thank Crystal, Bonnie, Danielle, Robbie, Arnie, Allen, Jenifer, Trina, Theresa, Zane, and all of the other nurses who have given Katy such wonderful care. Aside from the care they give to Katy, I get to see them with several of the other patients. Their empathy, kindness, and love are all indicators that these are a special breed of people. We are lucky to have them in this ICU.
While Katy and I were still in Cozumel, we rented a jeep for a day of exploring the island. We went to the center of the island and saw ancient ruins that were a thousand years old. We (being repltile and bird owners) loved seeing all of the iguanas that were EVERYWHERE. Some were 5 feet long! We walked through the jungle, saw ancient religious sites, pyramids, temples, houses, and the entrances to underground waterways. Then we went to the Southeast side of the island and ate lunch. For those of you who don’t know, Cozumel’s West side is all white sand, calm waves, and not very many sharks. The East side is rough surf, jagged rocks (Katy got her “honeymoon scar” on her ankle on those rocks), and sharks. On the Southeastern curve of the island there are several little restaraunts and bars. We stopped to eat at one that was literally a small kitchen, a plywood roof (maybe 4′ x12′), and a portable restroom. The tables were in the sand, and ours actually had the water running over our feet while we ate. This place was RIGHT on the water. We ate 2 flounder, 2 lobsters, 12 shrimp, octopus, squid, and several other fish, plus a few Coronas, all for around $15! The neat thing was that the owner’s family had caught all of the fish that morning. It is hard to beat fresh seafood! We ended up finding a secluded beach, off of one of the jungle roads, and we took a nap in the shade of the jeep and a lone palm tree. Then we went looking for more of the local culture.
Our adventure continued to the Northern tip of the island….at least that’s where we intended to end up. There is a road that crosses the middle of the island, and most of what is North of that is jungle. There is a trail (4×4 required) to an ancient Mayan lighthouse, that runs throught the jungle. We lowered the top on the jeep and started making our way through the palm fronds that were coming in to the jeep. The path was very narrow. After a few minutes, we were almost ran into by a caravan of jeeps traveling very quickly in the opposite direction of us. We would soon find out why. Every evening a small storm would hit the island. It was usually very pleasant, with lots of rumbling thunder, and a brilliant lighning show, but what was coming at us was a full on storm. About 10 minutes after the near collision with the other jeeps, the sky had gone from sunny to dark grey. 5 minutes later it was BLACK. We scrambled to get the top back on the jeep, and finished just before the winds picked up, and the horizontal rain started. The trail was too narrow to turn around, so we decided to try and move forward to look for a place to turn. I knew from my off-raoding days, that we did not want to stay still and let the water collect in the loose sand under our tires. We drove (at about a mile an hour) throught the thick jungle and pouring rain for another 1/2 hour. We finally came to what looked like an opening big enough for us to turn around, and in that opening were 6 men in olive drab uniforms carrying machine guns! We were startled for a second, but they just smiled and waved us to turn around. We even asked if they needed a ride. We knew there wasd the military base near by, and we thought they may have gotten stuck, too. They said that they were fine, and we went back towards the main road. Later, we found out that those guys are part of the force that protects the tortoise eggs from people stealing them. We never did get to see the lighthouse.
Love to all,
Al
Hey mr.hayes the same thing happened with my grandmother (speaking of the trach). If she does get one it should be able to be removed depending on her recovery by the time she is leaving the hospital. Love, carrington
Al,
As usual, I loved your story today. I am praying for all of you!
Blessings,
Kathy
is the purpose of the trach so she can be on a breathing machine and still talk? i agree why not wait a few days and if the lung looks good it might be back in use. or is there another reason that i am missing?
God Bless You Both!
Love, Susan
I cannot emagine how Katy is holding up so well with all of these procedures and surgeries, she is so strong. Thank God she forgets them!
What a wonderful adventure, what a wonderful honey moon.
Al, your story has changed my life. Words cannot express how sorry I am for what your family is going through. Please know that there is another person praying for you each and every day. Stay strong and God Bless You
Hope you make it to the lighthouse one of these days !! Prayers to you all !
Ed
Dear Mr. Hayes,
I’m thinking about you a lot and miss you. Percussion isn’t the same without you.
I hope your wife gets better very soon.
take care, Jake
Jake,
I don’t get the chance to answer many of the comments made on the blog, but I wanted to reply to yours. I’ve enjoyed getting to know you in class, and I have felt honored to be your percussion teacher. It means so much to me that you took the time to write me. Keep practicing, and I look forward to jamming with you as soon as I can get back to Pin Oak!
Al Hayes
Al… You are indeed, a class act! Prayers for you , Katy and family!
Hello Al,
I just had to write to comment tonight since I read your blog every night. I loved this story from your honeymoon – it sounded like an adventure movie!
Your love for each other is amazing and I feel that will make all the differencein Katy’s recovery. I think of Katy every day, honestly. I hope she continues on the road to recovery.
Jennifer