August 7, 2011

There are not a lot of changes to report. However, I did want to give everyone a quick update. Brian appears to be healing well from the surgery. The dressings covering his surgical incision have been removed. His NG (nasogastric) tube has also been removed. This is a tube inserted through the nose, down the back of the throat, through the esophagus, and into the stomach. The purpose of inserting the tube was to keep the digestive juices out of the stomach so that Brian's bowels could rest and heal from the stress caused by the obstruction and his recent surgery. The doctors are waiting for signs that his bowels are functioning properly before they will allow him to eat or drink. At the moment, the doctors and nurses are primarily focused on managing his pain which seems to be improving a bit more each day. Yesterday he was able to get out of bed and sit up in a chair for awhile. Over the course of the next few days, the goal will be to get him up walking and moving around. Brian is keeping positive outlook and fighting very hard to get stronger. For the moment, these are the only significant updates. As he continues to progress, I will keep you informed.