It's 8:30 and I just walked in the door. Tom did great today! 

 This morning they removed the intra-aorta balloon pump from his groin, and the endotracheal tube from his throat this afternoon, both of which made him a lot more comfortable. After a while he was allowed ice chips and then water - the surgery and drugs had made him very thirsty, and he said water never tasted so good. 

 He floated in and out during the day because of the pain meds, but there was a WORLD of difference between 8:00 am when I arrived, and 8:00 pm when I left! This evening they allowed him to sit up in bed, and later this evening they plan to get him out of bed into a chair. All of this within 24 hours of open heart surgery. Beyond amazing! 

The catheter will probably come out tonight and the chest drainage tubes tomorrow. He did great on his breathing exercises - much better than most of their post-op patients - so I fully expect him to be home early next week.

Just as I was pulling up to the house Estera called - she wanted to see how Tom was doing, and brought over a delicious chicken and rice dish that is in the microwave as I type.  So all is well!