Smash The Mirror
We’ve had a few more days of lows and much better highs the past few days since I first laid bare my son, Trevor’s, medical issues on this blog.
Saturday February 12 found us in a sit-wait-stay-good dog position. Baby steps continued, but were always aided by scheduled Morphine and hindered by boredom and short nights of sleep. (Or is it long nights of little sleep?) We had some real strong highs though. Visits from my Aunts as well as an old neighbor and still good friend, Karen Browne, brought us the first home cooked meal we were able to enjoy in almost two weeks. Granted, we were ginuea guniea, guinny pigs test subjects for a new recipe, but it was fantastic – and amazingly generous! She brought her daughter, Carolyn with her and she played board games with Trev and was able to work the magic of bringing the old Trev out for a bit. Amy also had a visit from a good friend who is a tennis partner of Trevor once I left for the night, which was great for her spirits as well as Trev’s. It was my turn to go home since Austen had a big day with Order of the Arrow on Sunday. Luckily for him, he didn’t need to spend the night with a stinky, cranky, old guy that smelled of hospital funk – he was able to spend the day and night with his friend Nathan Bartz. As my friend Buck would say: “add the Bartz’s to the list!”
Sunday February 13 was a day of ups and downs depending on where you state the day starts and ends. Personally, until I go to sleep at night the day doesn’t end. But first the highs; visits from my mom, who I found out the day before is now dating and has been for a couple weeks after the death of my Stepfather a couple years ago (which was a big topic of conversation) as well as visits by a classmate and neighbor of Trevor, Kenzie Binter along with her mother and brother. They had sent Trevor a letter in the mail stating they’d love to visit if he was up for it. After seeing the improvements after Carolyn Browne’s visit the day before we didn’t hesitate to say “yes”. Trevor’s spirits continued to improve. Thanks to Red Gate and an old usb thumb drive of theirs I was able to download our XBox profiles from home so Austen, Trevor, could do more than just kill Nazi zombies (apparently named Timmy by Trevor) in Call of Duty. The video games, movies, and Legos are great time and pain distractors for him. Toss in a kid his age to hang out and you can’t believe the change in mood as of late. He continued to get up and walk; spent most of the day in the wheelchair instead of bed. He finally began to, well for lack of the polite phrase, poop. They moved him off suction on his NG tube to gravity instead. Then came the mouse, the move, and the step back.
Around 10pm (I swear) I saw a mouse in his room. We were swiftly packaged up and moved down the hall (albeit to a smaller and louder room) to an expectantly rodent-free room. Trev drifted off around midnight and I did my midnight raid to the cafeteria so I could eat without eating in front of him. Coming back and downing a timely midnight dinner of barbeque chicken and garlic mashed potatoes (yeah, the diet is getting trashed these weeks folks) I started doing some work when Trev started to toss and turn partly due to the young girl throwing a very loud fit in the room next door and partly due to pain. His pain was new – stabbing rather than burning to use his words. The nurse came in and gave him a 1 mg dose of Morphine after being on Tordal all day. We figured gas so I started to bicycle his legs. He then threw up the contents of his stomach. Doctors placed him back on suction and we figured we just suffered our first step backward. He was still in pain and I dispatched the nurse to get 1 mg more of Morphine. I was able to get him back to sleep without it though. He was dazed enough that I could tell him that she gave it to him and that was enough to calm him down and with a little hair massaging and gentle words he drifted off for the night.
Monday February 14 – Valentine’s Day: This was Trevor’s self-imposed discharge day. But it didn’t happen. Woke up around 8:30am – the latest yet but he needed it. Looking pale and in pain he got more Tordol. We watched movies, went down the hall to a new “Magic Room” to do some Valentine’s Day crafts, and had visits from my Mom as well as his tennis partner Ben and his Mom. Amy had taken Valentines and candy from Trevor to his class and brought back likewise. Very sweet, they had taken a photo of all of them with a sign saying “Get Well Trevor” and were all making little hearts with their hands. Their teacher is even bringing us dinner tonight. Hopefully the last we will have at the hospital. Why the last? Well, the doctor came in around 6 pm to fill us in on what his impressions were of his progress. Trevor asked – sure the answer was no – if he could have the sucker attached to the Valentine that Ben had brought. Doctor said “sure, why not?”
Both Trevor and Amy questioned the doctor multiple times thinking that he was joking. After days of being told he could not eat or drink due to the tube the doctor said a sucker would not produce enough material that he’d be concerned. He also moved him off suction to gravity in his tube. Trev’s spirits shot through the roof. Ben and Beth stayed for a bit longer and Trevor finished the sucker. Since I was about to head home, Amy went to get something to eat and was in the room across the hall eating it when Trevor needed to go to the bathroom. At that point, nature took over in a very big way (draw your own picture folks) and with that we think that we are about to be kicked out the children’s ward and back home!
Tuesday, February 15: Having seen such great results from Trevor having kids around we’re letting Austen play hooky so he can play video games all day with Trevor. We are also going to doing some contrast-assisted photos of the abcess with the drain in to see if the drain can be removed – we’re concerned that the color is quite red, but the doctors seem encouraged that there is a chance he may be able to go home without a tube. We’ll find out today. He woke up in considerable pain and with some nausea, but we think it to be a normal sign of his body changing.
THIS JUST IN: Just was texted a photo of Trevor and the NG tube is OUT! Great news. Hell, we may be home today!
Thank you all. Three words that don’t look like much. I wish we could express how much we appreciate all that you’ve done for us. Unfortunately all we can do right now is say thank you and send a thank you card.
Trevor, Now in Wireless Mode
and pay it forward.
THIS JUST IN IN: drain tube for abcesses out too! Should hopefully start eating soon. May be home tomorrow!