Update #183

The fast is over...well, sort of. Sorry for the lack of posts yesterday, but we waited all day just to find out that Dave wouldn't get to start consuming anything orally again until today. Originally, it sounded like today's diet would include real food, or at least the milkshake I mentioned the other day. Unfortunately (although I'm sure it's better for Dave's recovery), he is restricted to a "clear liquid diet," meaning anything you can see through. Basically, his meal tray consists of jello (which Dave doesn't like), broth, tea and some kind of juice. We've also added some Sprite and some mostly clear soup. Not huge, but definitely a step in the right direction. If the drainage doesn't go up as a result, things will increase gradually from here on out, probably to "full liquid diet" (including oatmeal, ice cream, mashed potatoes, pudding, etc.), then to a regular diet.

I stopped fasting when Dave did this morning (mainly because his orange Jello looked very appealing) and will continue to eat as he does. Hopefully, there will be no more setbacks and we'll keep moving forward over the next few days.

One specific prayer request on top of getting to eat and getting to go home: we found out today that Dave is not allowed to leave the floor he is on for any reason. One of the doctors suggested this morning that we take a walk outside, but when we asked the nurses, they said hospital policy doesn't allow it. We're going to ask for a written doctor's order for outdoor privileges in the morning (sound ridiculous, doesn't it?) - be praying that we can get permission.