Beyond All Creatures ... Thee

John left today to go back to MD. He will be back and forth over the time Parker is in the hospital, and is planning to come for a more extended stay when I finally go home. I felt so sorry for John, it must have been so hard to leave. He cried quite a bit.

All three doctors were very pleased that Parker had a good night. They clamped the NG tube to test and see if his stomach would process the regular acids and bile without causing him to throw up or have more pain. No throwing up, and we cheated and let him have water, but only because we measured every teaspoonful and gave the count to the nurses so they could account for it when they suctioned the stuff out of his stomach later.

His mouth and tongue are so dry and cracked, I can barely understand what he is saying when he tries to talk. We keep lotion on his lips and tongue at all times. He has begun to have more pain (oh those 18 almost pain free hours were like a tropical vacation!) and I suspect I might be in for a long night.

In addition to the regular back and left side of the stomach pain, his tailbone has started to hurt, which is a sign the skin is beginning to break down and he could get bed sores. Twice today he asked to turn onto one side, which was progress because I didn't have to force him. But tonight he is experiencing more pain again. Ugh. Everything is driven by this need to be pain free.

He also had more scary hallucinations today. After it was over, he coached me on how to handle it next time. I thought it was very interesting, because he obviously understands when its a hallucination, and he knows what will make him relax and knows that it won't be over until it is over. No amount of my telling him he is hallucinating will make it stop, it only makes him more agitated.

These big hallucinations, like the really, really scary night in the other hospital, are different than the constant mumbling and conversations he has in his sleep. Most of the time he converses with his customers at work. I have learned the secrets to GM's success in their customer care department just by listening to him talk. Don't worry GM, I'm too tired to remember.

Tonight he is preaching in his sleep, like the best Sunday sermon I've ever heard. He's teaching about the value of family and how to achieve harmony and balance in your life and in your relationships. If I didn't know better I'd think he'd been listening to some Joel Osteen tapes. :-)

Dr. Garcia, the surgeon, said today that at the end of the week (presumably Friday?) he will have his next MRI so they know what kind of progress/decline is being made. For now I hope for a restful, pain free night.

I stole the following poem off a friends blog. I hope she doesn't mind, but these very same thoughts have been on my mind ever since my mother told me my father prayed for Parker. Although he is a gentle, Quaker-like man, my father is a scientist and has had trouble taking that leap of faith. The fact that he prayed makes me know he is beginning to understand the truth. For that I am so happy, and for that I have stolen Alison's poem.

Lord, purge our eyes to see

Within the seed a tree,

Within the glowing egg a bird,

Within the shroud a butterfly:

Till taught by such, we see

Beyond all creatures, Thee...

~ Christina G. Rossetti