Hoping that all of you who read this have enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends. Although we're spending Thanksgiving in the hospital, we have much for which to be thankful.
Josiah has been awake much of the day. He usually cries when a staff member enters the room, and always shakes his head no when asked if he needs medicine. His attending doc today said that he probably is in pain, but just doesn't want anyone coming near him, so they're giving him Tylenol every 4 hours. We've read lots of books and he's watched two movies, mainly trying to keep him comfortable and peaceful.
Good news - he is breathing so well on his own that they are slowly taking him off of the ventilator. The large tube must
stay in his nose to keep the airway open and to be there in case it collapses, so they don't have to intubate through the airway sites they just repaired. They have turned him down to 24% (I think 21% oxygen is considered "room air"), and he stil has something going on with the ventilator that provides a push to open his lungs. They will slowly wean him off of this and if he can tolerate it, this will allow him to be able to sit up more, etc. (although right now he gets upset if we even have to adjust his pillows to change his position every few hours).
He continues to be a real trooper. While in obvious discomfort and somewhat frustrated because he can't speak, he is remaining calm, compliant and controlled. He just gave me a quick 1st smile of the day, but other than that he's just looking around most of the time. His level of calm is great because the more upset he gets over things, the more movement and the more possibility of jarring something in his airway that is still healing. We have even removed the restraint from his right hand, and so far he hasn't touched his tube.
Palomino, an upscale restaurant in Cincinnati, catered Thanksgiving lunch in two seatings at RMH today. Shelly attended noon and I attended 2 PM. Very good food and so kind of these folks to volunteer not only the food but also the time away from their families for part of today. The hospital itself is like a ghost town today, but the staff that are serving are cheerful and so professional. I remarked to someone yesterday that our interaction with Cincinnati Children's Hospital on the Sept. trip and now is probably the best customer service experience I've had in a long, long time. The hospital's motto is "Change the Outcome"...what an awesome mission.
Josiah is now again napping, which is great for him...his little body is so worn out. In closing, I want to share another Josiah story from this morning. Josiah hasn't seen a picture of himself without the trach and his neck is still bandaged, so this morning I wondered if he realizes the trach is gone. I asked him, "Josiah, do you know that your trach is gone and that you're breathing thru your mouth and nose just like Silas does?" He looked somewhat surprised and shook his head "No." I replied, "That's pretty cool, isn't it?", and he nodded yes. I'm sure it will be an even bigger deal to him when he feels better, which should continue to happen over the days ahead.
Hope you've had as great a Thanksgiving as we have!
How awesome that Josiah is doing so well so far. We're praying that he will heal quickly! What great things God must have in store for this little boy and wow, what a story he'll have to tell when he's older. Hope you all get some rest tonight.
ReplyDeleteKim Rector