Dad had his heart surgery last Wednesday and he was in ICU until late Friday morning. When we first saw him Thursday morning, he was able to speak and his voice got stronger throughout the day. He looked well and alert, but slept a lot throughout the day, which was good for his recovery. His appetite was poor for the first couple of days, but even as of Friday we saw a noticeable change in the color in his face.

He continued to improve extremely fast. His pain level on a scale from 1 to 10 continued to stay 1, so the nurses had to push pain killers on him to make sure he was comfortable enough to do his deep breathing exercises and walks.

Mom is doing well, but due to the stress of the past week and constant vigilance caring for Dad, she has come down with a cold. We are trying to make sure she takes good care of herself as well, but she has always gotten over illness fast, so she continues to "Energizer Bunny" on.

Today, the drain tubes in his chest were removed, he was taken off of oxygen, and after an evaluation by his cardiac surgeon, he was given the choice of coming home today or spending another night. Coming home was the choice that won hands-down! Speaking with the nurses, they were confident that he was ready to be discharged and further observation was not necessary.

Tonight at 8:20 PM, he bounded swiftly up (...at least walked with enthusiasm) the steps into the house as if he didn't just have open heart surgery less than a week ago! The nurses did say he had extremely strong leg muscles and was able to get up easily from sitting, which many patients are not able to do, relying on upper body strength (a no-no right now) to get up.

He just finished a shower and as he walked by just now, he was walking straight and in no signs of pain, despite no pain medication since before the tubes were removed.

There have been so many well wishes from family and friends - we've been really touched!