Well, we don’t know if it was the bitching about being stuck in the ICU or not, but they let him leave the hospital today.

Two days after a craniotomy… Wow. Anyway, he’s still in some pretty nasty pain and feels dizzy and nauseated (we’re not sure if it’s just the result of the surgery or if the percocet is adding to that). He’s eating a little, but not tons. His speech is slow and labored. Both of those issues are probably partially the result of swelling and muscle pain — he’s got a bruise behind his ear and swelling in his neck along the jaw line — so it’s painful to open his mouth to talk or eat. I’m still in shock about how well he’s doing just two days after surgery, but I know he’s frustrated with the pain and with seeing some slowness. Also, his right hand isn’t as responsive as it normally is (dropping a few things and the dexterity isn’t quite there, yet). He’s also got some difficulty with assessing how much time has passed — generally thinking more time has passed than it has. I’m thinking most of these issues will resolve themselves as time passes and his body heals from the trauma of surgery, but we’ll see.

The doc wants to see him again in 7-10 days. We still don’t have a firm answer on whether the stitches are dissolving ones or not, so I guess we’ll find out tomorrow when we call the doc to make the follow-up appointment. I think we’re staying in Phoenix to make sure everything is still ok in the coming days, but that may change after tonight. Kyan’s in the room with us and because he’s not feeling great, he’s cranky. Not sure how Jonathan is going to feel if Kyan wakes him up with crying throughout the night.

I asked him about calls and stuff and I think he’s still too beat and in pain for that. He seemed overwhelmed when I mentioned it. He does have his BlackBerry, so he can see emails if anyone wants to try, but I wouldn’t suggest calling. He may answer and get frustrated that it’s still hard to talk (he said it takes a lot of effort on his part). Right now, he’s passed out (hopefully) in the room with Kyan (who has hopefully stopped crying).

Don’t know all the details, yet (Kyan’s got a bit of a cold and I had a sore throat overnight, so we slept as much as possible to try to kick it)… Heading over to the hospital in a few and will post the details when I know them. We plan to stay in the hotel for a bit more, just in case and to feel secure in being close to the hospital, but looks like he’s out. And not too soon — he’s pretty irritated by the place by now! There’s no shower in his room and they may be great at the surgery, but the nurses and the general hospital feel is the same — it’s like they never listen when you say something.

We were told tonight that most likely no one could review his MRI till the morning, so he’s going to be there for the night. One nurse even said that patients sometimes get changed to “floor status” but never leave the ICU — because there aren’t enough beds on the other floor. So, they get disconnected from the constant monitoring and then just get discharged directly from the ICU. So… we’ll see what happens tomorrow.

Only because he needs an MRI before being moved and they can’t get him in for an MRI before 10 PM tonight. UGH. I guess I understand, though — there are 48 neuro ICU units (not including peds, trauma or any other ICU units) and I only saw ONE empty bed in my walk around with Kyan (and almost all other patients look pretty bad off or just plain out of it, so I’m guessing any tests they need will bump his back since he’s doing so well).

I took Kyan out for a walk and some lunch and that’s when the doctor showed up, of course. Jonathan said he was only there for 60 seconds or so, but that he confirmed that he removed a big chunk (ping p0ng to golf ball sized amount) and that everyone’s happy with his progress. He said he’d most likely be discharged tomorrow or Monday.

Jonathan’s still in a fair amount of pain and nauseated, so we headed back to the hotel to give him some quiet time (and we’ll find a grocery store and get a few basics). Hoping the nurse can come up with a better combination of meds. Of course, we may mess with his stomach a bit since the only thing he asked me to get at the store was BBQ Fritos. OY.

My guess is we’ll stay in Phoenix till Wednesday just so everyone feels comfy about the recovery and then head back to Tucson.

He took a tiny walk last night and a longer one this morning. He’s chatting with me now. He has a follow-up MRI as soon as they can get him in and then he’ll be in a regular room. The PT guy came in and said he was doing great and that he didn’t anticipate he’d need any PT. He said that based on what he sees, he’d guess that Jonathan will be discharged tomorrow or Monday. He’s not a doc, but he deals with brain surgery patients all day. Jonathan does have a small stutter at times, but even that seemed to get better in the hour that we were talking.

More when I can use a pc and really type (when he gets to his other room – we have a laptop and they have wireless here). Oh, and cell use is not allowed in the ICU, so no calls till later (and if his head pain allows it – sounds are amplified now).