Mark Report: 12:35 AM Sunday

Just wanted to chime in that I haven't heard anything this evening. Jack and I got to the hospital around 3:30ish. Mark was in the cardiac ICU as previously posted around 7:30 PM. When we left, not much had changed. He was sedated, had a 102-degree fever, but his vitals were somewhat improved. They'd uncovered him to help the temperature come down.

( Some difficult details under the cut )

Jack brought us pizza and salad for dinner. Kate and David brought playing cards. We left at 8:30. Elizabeth had her friend Joyce with her at the time. Austin (E's son), his dad and dad's girlfriend had gone for dinner. I had reached a point where I needed to get away.

I'll be checking in with Austin tomorrow morning and going to the hospital in the afternoon. I'll pass along whatever news I can get.

My apologies to those who want more frequent news. Beyond a certain point, it's just hours and hours of the same thing: waiting for him to stabilize. And I promise I'll post about that as soon as I hear it. Thanks to everyone for all the support and good thoughts.

If you're a qualified blood donor, Mark's blood type is O positive. Blood donations in his name would be a help.

That's it for tonight, friends. More news as I get it.

Mark Report: 8:45 AM Sunday

Elizabeth's posted about Mark's condition.

Reading to Mark

Hey folks--My plan for today is breakfast and Fremont Sunday Market with Kate and David before heading to the hospital.

As I mentioned yesterday, when I go to the hospital, I'll be taking some Shakespeare with me to read to him. If you have messages for Mark that you'd like me to read to him, please send them to me. I'll print them out and take them with me. They could be anything: best wishes, a joke, an anecdote, anything. Besides Shakespeare, I'm going to bring some poetry, and a copy of the latest Wired and Discover magazines.

If you have something you'd like to share with Mark, either post it here or send it to me privately. Whether I read it to him or someone else, it will all get to him.

Thanks!

Mark Report 3:35PM Sunday

I arrived at the hospital about a half hour ago. Elizabeth's brother has just arrived.

Elizabeth tells me that Mark's temperature is down. The next challenge is to reduce his body fluids. He's got about 17 kilos to rid himself of. Elizabeth's just come out of his room; she says he's "outputting good quantity." He's off the heart-lung machine but is on a breathing machine. They have reduced support from the external heart pump they put him on. They've reduced his blood pressure meds a little; his BP is closer to where it should be and his heart is doing what it should be without external support.

The word is that given the amount of fluid they need to get out of him, he may not be closed up until Tuesday. Apparently some of this is because he's so swollen everywhere.

I haven't been inside to see him yet but I'll be going in shortly. I'll be bringing in things to read to him. Austin is retrieving his iPod and speakers so he'll have things to listen to.

More information as I have it.

Mark report 8:15 PM Sunday

Just got home from the hospital. Mark's color is better than it's been in a while. He's still looking swollen--it's all that extra fluid in him. Though his temperature has improved, when I hold his hand it seems very warm to the touch. The nurse monitoring him says that he continues good "output," relieving stress on his body. Even I could tell that his blood pressure had improved by the time I left tonight.

I read him all the messages I received today and provided brief reports on the weather and current events. I also read him an article from Discover magazine about dark matter, and a beautiful story from jaylake. e_bourne, her brother, Joyce and I played a mean game of Scrabble. Elizabeth seems to be in better spirits--not great, but she's not falling apart either. She's managing very well. I think Austin and her brother's presence helps. All seems to be going pretty well. It's just all going really slowly.

The word is that they won't attempt to close Mark up until Tuesday. They want him to rid himself of all that extra fluid before they do it. It will also help ensure he gets and remains stable. The idea of him being open (though packed up good and tight) and sedated all this time, I find a little scary. At the same time, I know there's a reason behind it.

I'll be back to the office tomorrow and won't get to the hospital until the evening. Keep an eye on e_bourne's LJ in the meanwhile. More news as I have it.

And what about, you know, scarlettina?

So...there were things this weekend that weren't about markbourne, though they were tucked into the corners because he was the priority. Still, I want to note them because there was goodness, and goodness is important.

davidlevine and kateyule arrived on Thursday evening. We went grocery shopping to ensure the fridge was stocked for the three of us, then just hung out before hitting the sack.

Friday was my birthday. Besides the very well-documented surgical events of the day, I received several lovely gifts from friends and many good wishes, all of which were hugely appreciated.

Saturday morning, jackwilliambell made absolutely delicious French toast with challah and sourdough bread--two very different taste experiences--using his grandfather's recipe, which included things like vanilla and cinnamon. There was bacon, wine, mimosasl it was just a lovely little celebration. I should note that Jack gave me a "Penguins on the March" T-shirt (nicely tailored with a v-shaped neckline) and a power drill with a set of bits. I'm now well dressed, armed, and dangerous.

Jack bought a new car this weekend, so we went and retrieved it from the dealer. We rode to the Eastside on his bike, then I drove the car, following Jack on his bike, to his place. The car's a pretty little red convertible and a lot of fun to drive. We dropped off his bike and then went to the hospital.

Jack and I cut out around 8:30 to go catch "Moon," a really good independent science fiction film. There's almost nothing I can say about the movie without spoiling it, except to say that it's set on the moon in the future and that it's about the person who maintains a mining base there. Alone. For three years. The rest, well, go find out for yourself. It's definitely worth seeing.

This morning, davidlevine and kateyule took me out for breakfast, and then we strolled the Fremont Sunday Market. I found a beautiful rosewood elephant made in Kenya, a birthday present to myself. I was, otherwise, a model of self control. Spent the rest of the day at the hospital, as you may have seen from my last LJ posting.

Tomorrow I'm back to work. What I really want more than anything right now is one full day of not doing anything, not leaving the house, having time to myself, and just taking care of mundane household stuff. My plan for tomorrow was to go to work and then go to the hospital. I'm going to monitor myself carefully tomorrow, though, and see how I'm feeling. I'm just exhausted and I may end up just wanting leave work, come home and go to bed. We'll see.