Time seems to stand still...

in hospitals. Like JaLee said in one of her posts - it is a love/hate relationship. We love that there are facilities like this to take care of us when we are sick, but we hate sitting around in waiting rooms wanting good news from the doctors, nurses or anyone. Grandpa Don is still listed in critical condition and is in the ICU. We were all up at 4:30 am on Monday (April 28) so we could be to the hospital at 5:30 to talk to grandpa and be with him before they took him for surgery. He looked so good and had really built up some strength that he would need (more than we knew) to handle what was ahead. We were a little upset, though, to find out that the night shift nurse had given him Ambien to help him sleep, then didn't watch him close enough. He got up to use the bathroom during the night and forgot about his IV. He fell and hurt his knee and elbow, but luckily it wasn't any worse. They came to get him about 7:00 am and then the waiting began. It was a long morning, but the surgery team was so good to give us updates about every hour and a half. We were encouraged when the surgery was over and dad was doing good. The doctor said his aorta valve was very calcified and they had to chip away to get it out. They also ended up doing one bypass (which I missed hearing when the doctor told us and didn't find out until the next day) so he has an incision in his leg as well, where they took the vein out. We all felt good about how things were going when we went home at 10 pm Monday night. Unfortunately, he took a turn for the worse during the night and things have been going a little downhill since then. We are still trying to think positive thoughts and have a lot of faith that he will be able to pull out of this. One of his biggest challenges right now is his lungs - they had to put the ventilator back in last night to help him breathe and he has developed pneumonia, so they have him on antibiotics. Another challenge is his esophagus - it is not working well since surgery and they have not been able to give him oral medication or food. They tried to put a feeding tube down his throat but could not get it into his stomach. It has only been a day and a half since surgery, but I feel like it has been weeks. As I am writing this post, dad has been taken downstairs to have a CAT Scan on his lungs and on his head. They were also going to try the feeding tube again while using x-ray to make sure they are getting it in the right place. We know everyone is concerned and have appreciated the prayers, thoughts, phone calls and well wishes. We know that our dad / grandpa is much loved! We just have to keep praying and know that everything that can be done is being done.