Improvement

Thanks to everyone for your concern for Eli. I'm trying to cover it all on the blog rather than clogging inboxes. Last night, he got up and watched a movie in his chair. He also read a magazine. They got the pathology report this morning, and there was nothing of concern. There was some blood and tissue which caused the blockage, but they are uncertain as to whether the blockage caused the telescoping or vice versa. It was a very good thing that the surgeon opted to go ahead and remove the appendix while he was in there. It looked fine on the outside, but the inside was showing signs of infection, which may have been caused by the intussusception. The doctor said that if the surgeon had left it, they'd have been right back in the hospital in a few weeks for an appendectomy. Eli got up this morning for awhile to sit, but he had some pain medicine afterward and is sleeping now. He is afraid every time he feels any pain that it's going to get bad again like it was before the surgery, so they have to keep reassuring him that there will be some pain as he heals but nothing like what he was experiencing Monday. The doctor said they would give them 24-hour notice before moving him to a room, so it will probably not be tomorrow. Marci said his NG tube (the one through his nose into his stomach) is bringing out clearer fluid, less green and bilious. Once it runs clear, they'll know things are working again, she said. I guess that's kind of the determiner for when he leaves ICU....well, that and flatulence. His fever finally broke in the night. Greg stayed with him overnight. He asked one of them to stay; now that he's alert, he wants to know they're there, of course.