Still not eating

Zac is progressing, but slowly. The post-appendix-rupture infection in his gut seems to have been defeated, based on his white blood cell count, temperature, and the way that the open incision looked this morning. The surgeon felt good enough about it to close up five of the six inches of the wound, leaving an opening the size of a peach pit. We expect he'll close it completely tomorrow. Fewer inches of open wound should decrease Zac's pain.

He still has very little energy, though, and his intestines don't show much sign of wanting to get back into the digestion business. Until that happens, Zac is stuck with an uncomfortable tube up his nose to drain his stomach. And it doesn't seem to work very well -- even constant fussing by the nurses doesn't keep the tube draining consistently. It's frustrating.

None of us realized how serious this was for the first day or two -- really life-threatening -- and how long it would take for Zac to bounce back. The drill is that he sleeps, takes a tiny walk, sleeps, does breath exercises, watches a video, walks, and sleeps again. Jordan and I take turns hanging out in the room, partly because he needs help getting in and out of bed, and partly because we can't think of anywhere else to be.