Update #66

Believe it or not, I've never been a fan of blogging. The idea of broadcasting the innermost parts of my life to the entire Internet never appealed to me and, as is true with any form of electronic communication, made me very wary of the fact that a lack of interaction with the person reading the message may make me more likely to communicate things online that are better said in person.

The reason for that extra special glimpse into my life is to preface the phrase "Dave and I are engaged" with a reminder that we really wish we could tell each of you the news in person (or at least over the phone).

In case you just missed that, Dave and I are engaged. :-) On Sunday, July 13th, with his parents on one side of his bed, his sister at the foot, and me on the other side, Dave "said" (mouthed) that he needed to talk to me. Somehow, everyone else in the room lipread his next sentence better than I did, and his family was smiling and/or crying before I even knew what was going on. I caught it the second time, though. "Will you marry me?" Never in my life did I think I would hear...lipread those words staring at the face of the guy that I love lying in bed in the ICU, but at that moment, no proposal could have been more perfect.

I said yes, in case you were wondering, while smiling and/or crying myself. I have to admit, though, that my next words were, "Are you going to remember this conversation tomorrow?" He promised me that he would, and his nurse assured me that the conversation had been recorded in his medical record, so I guess that made it official. And to reassure me further, the first thing Dave said the following morning when I arrived for visiting hours had to do with being engaged so I would know that he hadn't forgotten.

For a while, we considered keeping the news quiet, at least until Dave could call his friends to tell them himself (which is why it is coming to you two weeks late - that and the fact that it takes a while to track down my whole family, who I was fairly certain would not be okay with reading about the engagement online - go figure). But word travels fast in a hospital, and once we had been congratulated by the 50th nurse, we figured it might not be a bad idea - okay, we were both pretty excited - to broadcast our happiness to everyone who has been so supportive through this whole process.

Obviously, we have a long way to go before we get to husband and wife. But it's the "we" that is most important. Although Dave and I have started talking wedding plans (mostly to pass the time and to enjoy thinking about something outside of the hospital), our true focus is on celebrating the fact that we will be together, and our marriage will be stronger because of the past seven weeks.

If I keep typing, I will almost definitely become the babbling blogger that I used to avoid, so on to the rest of the update for yesterday and today...

Things continue to progress well. Dave's white blood cell count is still normal, and his platelet count is high enough that the doctors feel comfortable putting him back on blood thinners to try to dissolve the clot in his pelvis permanently. Hopefully, that will help his left leg feel completely better for more than a day at a time.

The drainage from his side has started to increase, most likely as a result of the increase in his tube feeding, so the doctors decreased the amount of food that he is getting to 30 (from 55) but increased the concentration to keep his calorie intake at a more normal level. From what I understand, the octreotide continues to work, but closing the hole in Dave's colon will take time.

Because he has not been sleeping well, Dave's doctors also changed his sleeping meds to something stronger last night. It worked - too well. Den said that Dave was pretty out of it all day today and didn't breathe with the trach collar at all because he was so tired. His nurse Prisila (one of his favorites) is hoping to convince the doctors to switch him back to Ambien tomorrow.

Overall, a short update, but positive just the same. I'm headed back tomorrow, and I promise to do my best not to get so wrapped up in being with Dave that I forget about all of the other people who wish they could be with him too. In other words, no more three-day intervals without posts. :-)

Love you all - and can't wait to celebrate with you (in person, not online)!