The forecast for Saturday was rain. Or so the cartoon of a cloud with raindrops that appeared on my weather app would have me believe. The rain was a morning thing and by the time I got to the hospital, around 9:30 am, the clouds were on their way out. Meanwhile, Derek was ready for a nap. His most comfortable position these days is curling up on the opposite end of the bed.
After his nap, we decided it might be nice to see this honey of a day in person. I went to the lobby and fetched a wheelchair, and Derek took his time getting up so as not to hurt himself. I slowly wheeled him down to the lobby trying very hard to cushion the bumps. When your insides have been rearranged and you’ve got staples covering most of your abdomen, even little bumps hurt. We made it outside, and it really was an amazing day. The perfect temperature, a nice little breeze, chirping birds, and bright sunshine.
Phototherapy is often employed when babies have jaundice, but extensive study hasn’t been done to determine the efficacy in adults. I would like to believe that exposure to the sun will make Derek’s bilirubin and jaundice disappear, but it’s probably going to take a bit longer. Nonetheless, some indirect sunlight seemed like an excellent idea and we parked ourselves in front of the parking garage, watched the birds and soaked in the clean air. I even sat on the ground for the first time in 5 weeks and was able to get myself to a standing position all by myself. Progress!
We stayed outside for a while and then reluctantly made our way back to the floor. We managed to take a couple of short walks around 6 Central and relaxed for most of the day. I even treated myself to some chocolate pudding.
Pudding parfait? I think parfait refers to a layered dessert, not pudding with whipped cream on top. Whatever.
Tomorrow looks like it will be another nice day, hopefully we’ll make it back outside. Monday brings the potential for a liver biopsy. The last in a trifecta of tests to determine how Derek’s new liver is acclimating to his abdomen.
The Derek Janiak Hepatobiliary Forum 
Your Mom and I got it first thing this AM. Thank you for the bumpless “play by play”.
Love you guys.
Hope you are able to enjoy another day outside, and I think phototherapy for D is a grand idea! Thanks for the updates and I agree that a pudding parfait should at least have layers of whipped cream interspersed with chocolate pudding. Sending love.
It was really a pleasant surprise that the weekend turned out so beautifully. Nice that you were able to enjoy for a few. If we can order some more good days for you Derek, it will be first on my list. 🙂