I'm typing this from Huey's bedside as I watch him try not to doze off...but fail miserably. He was quite alert when I got here, but is clearly very weary, which has got to be expected. When I walked in he was reading the long note I left him yesterday. He claims I have bad handwriting.
He is mostly lucid, but definitely has some "loopy" moments, e.g., he occasionally sees clouds and mice roaming across the ceiling. ("Did you see that one? That was a big one.") One of the first things he told me was that he was sure he was dead and then when Dr. Gammie came in this morning, he accused the doctor of killing him. He has promised to apologize when Dr. G. returns tomorrow.
He only remembers tiny bits of yesterday, which is probably for the best. Overall he looks miles better than he did yesterday, but definitely still has a way to go. I'm just glad that he can talk (and talk, and talk, and talk) so that he can tell someone if he needs anything. That was my primary goal for today - to know he could look out for himself a bit.
He told me one story that made me laugh hard. That someone came in this morning and said, "what is today's date?" Hugh's response: I KNOW today's date. Then they asked what month it is and he responded, "I KNOW what month it is." At this point he turns to me and says, "while I was saying I knew the answer, I was thinking about what the answer was." He has a gleam in his eye as he said it - the real Hugh is definitely in there.
So, I've been sitting next to him and when he dozes off, I read a few pages of my book and then he'll just pop awake and start a new train of thought. We just pick right up. Though trust me, we have run a REALLY big gamut of topics of conversation today.
The staff already seems to like him - despite his self-admitted bad behavior. A few minutes ago someone came in and said he'll probably be moved out of CICU tomorrow - he doesn't need to be here anymore. That's great news.
And I just showed him the video of Isabella that Belinda sent (thanks, B) but I'm not sure it was the best moment and I'm not sure he really "got" it. The longer I'm here, the more obviously tired he seems. They also told me that they're going to try to forgo his 6pm pain meds because of the "confusion" he's been having. Don't think I want to be here too long after that!
He told me that the pain is very bad but that he can tell it's getting better, bit by bit. He's also informed me that he's "never doing this again." Fortunately, it's unlikely he'll have to.
He's got a beaut of a scar all the way down his chest, which he was happy to show me. And I'm so delighted that 90% of the tubes and wires he had yesterday are now gone. He's got his hearing aid back in and his glasses on, so he seems more like himself. He does complain about the bubbles from the oxygen machine interfering with his hearing. He's also suffering from pretty bad nausea and can't really keep anything down - even water.
That's all I can think of at the moment. If anything else comes to me, I'll post once more tonight when I get home.
Love to all.
K
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