He's Home!!!!

It was too funny! What could make John more ready to come home than a lunch tray featuring
macaroni and cheese as the main entree?! Those of you who have known John for a long time know that John can hardly be in the same room with macaroni and cheese. It all came about when he was in St. Mary's grade school in Eugene and the nuns were giving him the eagle eye about eating all his lunch. When they weren't looking, our John boy quickly scraped his mac and cheese under the table, and then quickly put his empty plate back on the table. The only problem was that the mac and cheese ended up on his good buddy Roger Herring's shoes. It must have been the deciding moment, as John has seriously sworn off mac and cheese ever since. We couldn't even get him to try the fabulous apple macaroni and cheese served at the top of a mountain in Switzerland which was famous for their apple mac and cheese. He had a turkey sandwich instead!
Anyway, John was discharged from Good Samaritan yesterday. My brother, Kent, and John's sister, Toni, picked up from the airport by cousin George Miller, and daughter Betsy Miller were there to see John and then helped carry things to the car and get John on board. The checking out process is quite detailed, with lots of education for aftercare, arrangements for home health care, and follow appointments to be made for his rehab program and Coumadin maintenance, which will be done at Shapes at Salem Hospital.
John wanted a "real" lunch, and mentioned a bean burrito. We went to the Matador Restaurant on 23rd, joined by Kent, Toni, and our buddy Dave Davis, who has been such an amazing friend through this. John was so pumped to get out of the hospital; it felt like a party!
Toni followed us down to Salem, and after getting John settled in the recliner, Toni stayed with him while I went to get his prescriptions filled and do a marathon heart healthy grocery shopping. John immediately crashed to sleep, but was up and reading the blog comments and e-mails of good wishes on his computer when I came back.
The hospital sent him home with a walker (which drew some funny comments from brother Jim...**see below). John is still a little unsteady on his feet from everything. I made a bed for him on the couch for the night,, and, after watching a little TV, we called it a very big day. He is so happy to be home, and is anxious to be able to walk on the treadmill. He promises me he won't overdo it, but knowing him, that might be a challenge. I suppose his body will give him the message if he is trying to do too much.
The people at Good Sam were amazing. John received such excellent care, and all of his nurses were so kind......just terrific! If one has to be hospitalized, Good Sam would be the place! For the family and visiting friends, the location with all of the fabulous restaurants within a short walking distance was great. Also, the beautiful fall colors on all the tree lined streets were just breathtaking. I really love the fall anyway, but this was especially gorgeous, and the air was almost balmy.
John had really turned the corner on Tuesday and Wednesday after getting rid of most of the nausea. He still has a little from time to time, and his heart is still having some a-fib, but that should be able to be controlled with medication in a fairly short while. Our nurse said she thinks of the fibrillation as the heart's temper tantrum from being messed with during surgery. I'm not sure exactly why it happens, but apparently it is not uncommon. We hope it goes away soon.
Anyway, he is definitely on his way, and we think he will have a very good recovery.
**While John was going through this, brother Jim was sick with the swine flu. After both brothers were feeling better, Toni and Beth sent Jim a money card with two brand new dollar bills saying that they realized Jim was feeling a little neglected, what with his making up this nasty business about having the swine flue..ha ha. But they assured him he was still their "cute little guy". Jim, we are glad you are feeling better and, while we're not sending money, we really were concerned about you too. Thanks for your calls through all of this, when you could barely talk you were so sick.
I am officially turning the continuation of this blog back over to John, who won't bother you with a daily account, but will let you know how he is doing from time to time. I know he will continue to enjoy and be encouraged by your comments back to him. Thanks so much for your steadfast care, prayers, and words of encouragement. We are so very grateful. Love, Karen