Sunday, April 5

12.30am report: I just called and checked in with Deon, not Dan.. He said all steady for the night. He mentioned that dad has been talking much more than yesterday. His oxygen is at 5lites and is doing well. Blood Pressure at 130 - they are happy with that… He is not able to swallow so he is receiving his meds through IV. They did have to stop his COVID meds at day 9 - as that only comes in pills - and at this time he is not able to swallow. Overall he told me that he was doing well respiratory wise, however its made him weak. Night - till tomorrow…

4pm report: As per recommendation from Dr. French yesterday, this morning i dropped off dads phone and a few photos of the family. This will help to ground him as he is still a bit disoriented due to his time in the ICU. So at 4pm today i got a phone call from dads phone - please know he is NOT accepting phone calls on his phone so please DO NOT call… Mom, Felicia and I all had a chance to talk with him - he gave us a lot of ‘I love you’ - he sounded stronger than our last call, however is still slightly groggy. After the call Nurse Kasha gave me an update. He is still on nasal oxygenation which is at a solid oxygen flow rate of 5L/min. His oxygen levels are at 95/96 - and they say they are happy with anything over 93. He is being given IV for meds and nutrition as they continuously work with him to strengthen his swallowing capability. His kidneys are holding steady, a bit high however that is expected. We look forward to a face time call with dad later this afternoon - as promised, i have now made a friend on the floor who told me i can call her whenever… I know they are sooo busy as the ICU is at 3x capacity. Ill respect the plea for one phone call for updates, however looking forward with more call time with dad….

Family report: Heartrate 78; Blood Pressure 140/150; Kidneys producing 2.26 creation

6.30pm report - so my phone rang again… DAD it says… i picked up the phone and the first thing i hear is ‘Hey, whats going on?’ We were so excited to hear from him.. He then proceeded to tell us that he wants to come home tomorrow and we should come and pick him up… Apparently the TV doesn’t work in his room - yes we are working to get that fixed… He sounded great - stronger with every phone call.. Just remembering that we have a long road ahead and we are not yet out of the water, but of course this certainly lifts our spirits..….

11.45pm report: Just called unit and got in touch with Joe, dads nurse for tonight. He said he seems really stable right now.. He was really happy with his respiratory status and all vital signs are looking good. We are moving in the right way - fingers crossed we keep going..

Family report: Nurse Joe actually said that dad is the best patient in the unit with regard to respiratory… He is doing really well on his nasal prong, he continues to get Heprin on an IV and that is causing the troponin levels to lower - which is a good thing. His Blood Pressure is good, pulse is good, urine output is steady and clear - which is good. His kidney readings are still a bit high, but they have been consistent and haven’t gone up at all so that is good. They are working on getting his swallowing skills back - they might have to try to get that feeding tube back in him for meds and nutrition - will discuss tomorrow.. all good - good night..

Today a friend dropped off some wine and a box of masks - great way to keep in touch..

And my son made a cake - wish we could have shared it with Pa.