They said Tate looked good and if he could hold down non-clear solids, they would release him for discharge after lunch. The nurse would report back to them. They showed us how to remove the mouth guard, which is basically a plastic retainer that covers the entire roof of the mouth. I think of this as a "no no" for the mouth so his tongue doesn't play with the stitches. They showed us how to use the mouthwash rinse, which Tate hates because of the inevitable spit follow-up. And then they left us to our own devices.
Tate still wasn't 100%. He asked the nurse to please remove his IV (this was the singular thing he complained about most). I don't blame him. I think those suckers hurt in your hand. But they were giving him anti-inflammatory medication and pain killers and antibiotics through the IV, so removing it before discharge was pretty much a non-starter.
I managed to get Tate up and walking a little. We made it to the play room for a while, where we found a couple of eager volunteers, who played a game of Sorry with us.
That mostly tuckered out Tate, so we headed back to our space for some rest. But then, along came Polly, a dog visitor! At check-in they gave the option of having a visit from a dog if one happened to be volunteering, and Tate happily agreed.
Polly was a definite bright spot. She showed up in bunny ears and even convinced Tate to smile a little.
Tate and I also watched some Netflix. One of his favorites is the movie Candy Jar. He likes how fast the debaters talk. The wifi kept kicking us off every 15 minutes, but once we figured that out, we were less irritated by it.
Once Tate had a couple of shakes in him, our nurse made the discharge request. Tate napped. We didn't really account for the location of the hip incision high on the hip, and Tate's clothing waistband sits at that spot, so they let him wear their hospital pants, which had a loose gathering.
Finally, the medication was ready. No one every asked us if Tate uses chewable medication or he swallows pills, and we didn't think to offer the information. So when I got to the pharmacy, everything was in liquid form. Tate hates the taste of liquid medicines, but I didn't want to mess around with the recommendations from the doctors. So I took the supplies and left to trek to my car in the garage, where I waited in a long line to exit. Finally, I was able to leave my car standing and the nurse helped me wheelchair Tate right to the curb where the car was waiting.
He was pretty tired, but he stayed awake on the drive home.
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