Day Fourteen -- Slow but sure

It's difficult for me to wait until the end of the day to blog -- I have to rack my brain to think of everything that has happened!! I will probably start doing two a day to help me remember...

Today has been pretty uneventful...in a good way! He has been resting comfortably most of the day; he still has some coughing, but Bruce the Respiratory Therapist said that coughing is good and he wants his patients to cough. They reworked his vent tube and neck brace so they arent aggravating each other any more -- that has also helped with the cough.

Before we arrived this morning, they had checked his eyes and dilated them. The eye report was good -- it is still bleeding a little, but the dr thinks that there isnt any damage. They think the bleeding is just because it is irritated inside, and it really has bled less today than yesterday. The swelling in it has also gone down.

The Occupational Therapist came in this morning and was going to try and get him up in a chair again. However, he wouldnt open his eyes or respond. They thought it was probably becuase his eyes had been dilated and hurt in the light, but they still wanted him to respond. When he refused, the nurse pinched his finger....hard. He made a "mean" face, and I couldnt help but laugh. She apologized and said she was sorry, but if he wasnt going to respond, she had to make sure he was in there:) I think he will probably be responding from now on!!

So, they didnt end up getting him up in a chair and the OT never returned. The nurse did prop his bed up so he was "sitting" for awhile.

Around lunch time, they took him for an xray of his neck. It took four people to move his bed down the hall -- pushing the bed, pushing his vent machine, working the "oxygen bag" on his vent, and I think pushing other monitors. It was quite a process. He got a little worked up, but said he wasnt nervous and understood that he was doing fine. It must be scary when you cant talk and you cant see...even for my brave Uncle Dick.

The unofficial report of the xray was that everything looks good and the ligaments look as if they have healed. We will wait for the "official" reading tomorrow, but, if all goes well, the news will be the same and he will get the neckbrace off. At this point, we are looking for every baby step we can celebrate!!

Communication: He has responded well with us today -- squeezing hands, moving arms and legs, trying to mouth words. He got a little frustrated with us today when he was trying to motion something with his hands -- he was pointed up and moving his hands up and acting like he was writing. Mom and I played charades as best we could, but I dont think we ever really understood. At one time I said "You want to go home?" and he shook his head yes....I dont think that is what he was miming, but he agreed! I hope he didnt think I was offering to take him!! Later in the afternoon, Mom was holding his hand and he brought her hand as close as he could to his mouth and gave it several little kisses. She was very happy and felt very loved by her big brother....if only all little boys knew that, one day, they would love their sister that much!! I am sure Braden would be appalled right now!

He received several cards in the mail today -- lots of get well messages. We read some of them to him and will continue to do so. Someone even sent pictures of Grama and Grandpa Hasty (his parents, my grandparents!) and Uncle Denny (around 18 months old) in a walker. He hasnt seen them yet, but Mom told him about them and she loved them!!

OK -- I think that sums up the day. I seem to be a little more "wordy" than Aunt Judi...Uncle Dick would probably tell you that I have always had that problem!! I will leave you with Cheryl's deep train of thought this morning.....

(she was looking out the window, out at the bay, at a pelican that was swimming...) "Oh my! That bird just ate a fish. Gobbled him up. I mean, the fish was flopping around...I dont even think he had time to die....so he is just flopping....do you think he is flopping in the bird's stomach?" {if you dont find that funny, I apologize. It could just be the insanity of sitting up here all day and all the serious stuff going on....she was just so deep in thought as she wondered aloud about the fish flopping around....I just had to laugh!!}

On a serious note, mom (cheryl) wants to thank everyone that is sending prayers and good thoughts our way. While we make a little progress everyday, he still has a long way to go to get out of Trauma ICU, then regular ICU, then PT, etc. We know that God and Aunt Cis and Uncle Denny and all the other guardian angels are watching over him. We thank God that Uncle Dick is stubborn and a fighter -- everytime we mention his kids and grandkids, he moves his head or his eyebrows, so we know he is always thinking about them and fighting to come back to them and play and give hugs and kisses!!