The Joys of Being Hoyt

Sorry for the delay. Just a bit wiped out. Finally decided to plop some pictures up of the main event and leave ones of the kids running-around-like-crazy-banshees-on-the-hospital-playground, for later.

The surgery got started late, due to an emergency in the cath lab. However, an OR room opened up, so they decided to take Derek up there. I think the procedure finally started some time after 3:00.

Afterward, Dr. L. came and took the massive Hoyt hordes into a side room, to talk about how things went.

Then he grabbed Derek's heavy backback, which we'd been guarding, and carrying it, escorted us to the floor where Derek would be staying, overnight.
I mean really...how many doctors do this? Doc L. is one great dude!

While waiting for Derek's gurney to come down the hall, we got to cool our heels in the family lounge....oh look! FOOD,.
The kids descended like a hungry mob that hadn't eaten since 11:15.

Which they hadn't. Well, except for those cool snacks they got out of the vending machine.

I don't want to say my kids are sheltered or anything, but all one or two of them had never procured eatables from magic machines, before.

After posting lookouts, we spied Derek gliding down the hall, and I'm sure he wasn't embarrassed by his younger siblings greeting him with wild yells and smiles.

At all. (it wasn't that bad, really)

Minus the scrubs, Doctor L. showed us Derek's x-ray, which I didn't really comprehend, other than recognizing the rib cage.
Something about a "pnuemothorax." Hmmmm, I've heard that term before...I looked it up this morning and discovered it meant...

Sometimes it's good to be ignorant. This is probably why doctors use the terminology 'pneumothorax,' as opposed to, 'collapsed lung.'

It's only a very small bit. There's an air bubble on the outside of the lung, which pushes against the lung. They are giving Derek oxygen by mask to combat it. Shouldn't be a big deal, but since it was still there this morning, he'll probably have to stay one more night.

Anyway, I do appreciate how Dr. L. just took us all right up to the nurses station and showed us everything. Dr. L. and Dr. H. (Loren's first EP in Iowa City) are the best, in Ma's book!

Time to look in on the patient.

We walked into the room while Derek was proclaiming, "I am in total control. I'm completely rational. I'm actually feeling grumpy, rather than cheerful."
Wow, sounds normal to me :-D

He'd said that because we were joking about hearing him sound goofy from his meds. I remembered seeing Loren right after an angiogram and he was downright chatty and cheerful! In other words, not like himself.

But apparently Derek decided that was not going to happen, with him :-)

And he was more alert than he appears in these pictures...
...which, by the way, I had permission to post on the blog.

His throat was sore from the intubation, and he was really wanting a drink, but had to hold off for a bit.

As of this morning, he's feeling quite well, not needing any pain medication.

When Loren called me, Derek was reading his Kindle and Loren was regretting leaving his laptop at Derek's apartment, where Loren had spent the night.

But Derek should be checked out by tomorrow (at least), and Loren home then, too.

More stuffs to come, including daring feats by the kids on the playground equipment, or as I refer to it, "Go ahead...at least we're already at the hospital."
 

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