Progress

Creeping up to a month post surgery, and Dad is doing really, really well.  A visit with the surgeon last week cleared him to eat anything he wants to try, including sausage!  However, it's been a bit of a learning curve to figure out what works and what doesn't. The first week home was mostly soft foods.  Second week added a bit more meat and potatoes.  He's been avoiding things like rice, toast, and veggie and fruit "skin" to make sure that nothing gets caught in the anastamosis (the place where his stomach and what's left of his esophagus meet in his throat) as it is healing. He's done OK with rice, but still avoiding most of the other stuff.  He's been advised to get 105 grams of protein a day, which is equivalent to 15 servings!  So we've been checking labels and adding greek yogurt and tofu to our diet as we can.  Did you know that one container of Fage plain greek yogurt has 20 grams of protein?  That is a crazy amount, especially for something that tastes like sour cream :)   So, as we had read and everyone seemed to tell us, multiple mini meals throughout the day works better than 3 square meals, and he and Mom are figuring out what and when works for them.  Eating throughout the day has never been a problem.  Eating the right things so that by the end of the day you've gotten all the nutrients you need is a bit harder.

He has also been OK'd to drive since he isn't on any of the heavy medications.  However, his external incisions keep him from being able to turn his head very far or very quickly.  And he still has the 10 lb lifting restriction for another month or so.  But he's getting stronger every day.  He and Mom drove out to the thrift store in Warm Beach last week, and Dad worked at Josephine (the nursing home where he does chaplain work) for a few hours on Friday.  We're planning to go to Bellingham tomorrow for church, but Dad won't be preaching, still a few weeks before he and his voice are strong enough for that.

Because he is doing so well, and because Andy and his family will be coming out for a visit later in October, I'm heading back to Rochester on Tuesday.  I really didn't know what to expect for this recovery time, but have been amazed to see God at work to bring Dad so far so quickly.