Early Release!

After examining Ernie this morning, the surgeon decided Ernie was good to go back to the apartment, which the doctor declared, is less germy and more interesting.  When Ernie expressed some reservations, the doctor--who lives in the condo building next door to the place we are renting--said not too worry "I will be your doctor anytime--just call me and I will come over."  Such great care is why we love it here. 

Heather, Charley and I already learned how to clean his drain.  This has to be done twice a day until it is removed in about 5 days.  He also has to learn his PT exercises for his shoulder and how to clean his incision.  Once this checklist is completed, he will be released.

The incision is larger than we expected, extending almost ear to ear and accentuated with all the staples.  Also, the left side of his face is quite swollen.  Ernie joked that he looks like a cross between John McCain and Frankenstein.  I told him he needed a good story to tell--perhaps that he got in a bar fight in Fells Point (old sailing port area where Edgar Allen Poe died) and got cut with a Natty Boh bottle.  The surgeon said the incision should be almost invisible eventually and the swelling will be gone in a month or so. 

Ernie showing off his incision

Ernie's biggest complaint right now is his throat, which is very sore from the breathing tube.  However, he is free to eat whatever he can.  He managed to get a few bites of scrambled eggs and some pureed peaches down this morning, making his wife very happy.