Weekend update

It's Sunday approaching 7pm. Bill is still at ICU: He is off the ventilator and is doing well breathing on his own. His lungs, however, are "wet", and he is receiving extra dialysis today to extract fluids. He has been hooked up to the dialysis machine since 4p and they are just just finishing up, having taken out 2.5 liters of fluids.

Bill is more alert and awake, but his voice is very coarse. It is hard to make sense of what he is saying... I did make out "Coca Cola". He was begging for it. He said he talked to his doctor who said it was ok. I had to tell him once again that it would go to his lungs. He didn't believe me. It is heart-wrenching.

When I tried to exercise his legs, I could hear the creaking noises from his joints. For the first time he could not extend out his right arm. It is too painful. His arm is contracting around his elbow. It is hard to watch the scleroderma doing its devilish work on his body.

I sneaked Sophie and Olivia in to say hello to their dad. Within minutes, the charge nurse came asking them to leave. The ICU is much more strict about visitor rules. My sister Sunny took them out on a walk and then to dinner, allowing me to spend some time with Bill.

There are no doctors during the weekend so I am not sure what the doctors have decided to do about installing an external pace maker. We will probably find out tomorrow. Today's nurse Vivian read me the notes from the docs but there was nothing remarkable except that they thought Bill too unstable to transfer out of ICU today.

Bill seems relatively comfortable and joked one time that when people are sick, they are cranky.

My mother and my cousin's family are due to visit in a few minutes.

Andrea Chung, one of Bill's favorite students, wrote me an email today from Hong Kong saying she was able to push her trip forward. She will be visiting 4/19-4/25. Bill is delighted at the news!

Kris