Day 6 - Only the best feeling in the world!

This morning Brad woke up and because he had been taking water pills (because there was some crackling in his lungs) ended up in a coughing fit.... he was coughing so hard and so long that his neighbour was worried and he ended up seeping some fluid from a fluid pocket through his incision in his chest (which is apparently quite common for those who have larger chests).

This gave us a huge scare, we had worked so hard to make sure that he was progressing and now we were being told by the nurses that there was a good chance we wouldn't go home today. I know they have to say it to avoid getting hopes up, but honestly we had just been there so long and the thought of all that work being set back by one coughing fit was just frustrating.

Brad completed two flights of stairs today, flawlessly! I wish I had been there to see it, but it was done first thing in the morning to ensure that if he had a chance of being discharged he would have accomplished that requirement! It's funny, because it was probably better I wasn't there with my camera in his face, as this was more reflective of his abilities.

For lunch today Brad was given a tuna salad sandwich (which is really dry) soup with pasta in it, a mixed fruit salad (from the can) and a salad consisting of lettuce, a few shavings of carrot and a hint of cabbage.... after viewing this and yesterday's lunch (which was supposed to be diabetic but consisted of white rice soup, white pasta, pears in heavy syrup etc) we opted to refuse lunch and I went out to grab something for him. Here's the funny part, at one point the nurses on the ward commented that we "needed to get his blood sugar down" and yet they were feeding him white pastas etc, today I picked up a sandwich for him, and I'll be darned, his blood sugar went from 8.3 before lunch to 5.3 before dinner.

It's nice to know I still have it LOL!

Brad was in great spirits today as was I, and after accomplishing his flights of stairs, many walks, and a great conversation with the surgeon, we were given the amazing news that Brad could be discharged! The excitement was beyond anything! Talk about a new lease on life, and now it finally felt real! They took out his pacemaker wires, which feels like running a shoelace through your skin according to Brad, and I took the kiddos downstairs to blow bubbles while we waited the required hour before he could be moved (this is because the two wires they leave behind are actually affixed to the heart!).

The trip home wasn't bad at all, picking up the prescriptions took forever, but was well worth it, and even meeting the dogs went off without a hitch! Tomorrow morning we're planning on starting the day with mobility exercises and teaching them to the rest of the kiddos, enjoying some time in the backyard, and eating a proper diet!

We couldn't be more thankful of our surgeon and the nurses at the hospital, each and every one of them played such an important role in saving my family. We will be forever greatful!