Tomorrow I will take my son home. It is only for two weeks, but he will be home for the first time in four months and a day. I am filled with a mixture of emotions that filter through my heart as softly as a piece of lace falls to the floor.There will be time for reflection later. Right now my job is to learn to change the wound dressing on his abdomen every day, to keep the trach area clean, to chauffeur him between daily doctors appointments, out patient wound care and physical therapy appointments, as well as act as chief cook and bottle washer at his new apartment, dietitian, and probably shrink for a while as well. This is all okay. This is my job right now.
A mother does whatever needs to be done to save her child. In this case it means temporarily leaving behind the life I had in Maryland ~ my other son, my cottage, my two beautiful golden retrievers, my job, my elderly and ailing parents, my photographs, my almost finished manuscript .... everything that made up my life before that now infamous text message I got four months ago tonight.
A mother does whatever needs to be done to save her child. In this case it means temporarily leaving behind the life I had in Maryland ~ my other son, my cottage, my two beautiful golden retrievers, my job, my elderly and ailing parents, my photographs, my almost finished manuscript .... everything that made up my life before that now infamous text message I got four months ago tonight.
I'm in the hospital, don't call me!
Silly boy...... Don't call?
Today James and I, together with their Dad, got Parker moved to his new apartment, so when he comes home tomorrow it will be to not only a new life, but a new lifestyle. A couple of photos are below of the new apartment.
Today I also had my lesson in changing the dressing on his wound. As many times over the years as I have changed bandages, cleaned out pus and blood, picked out stitches and dressed wounds on horses, there is something really awkward about doing the same thing to your son. So I pretended he was a horse. I had to keep telling he and James not to speak so I wasn't brought back to reality, but it was the only way I could get through it without gagging. But I did it, and I will do it again tomorrow and Sunday. Then Monday morning the new doctor will see it and start to do it herself everyday until we have the skin graft done.
But tomorrow, for two weeks, he gets to be at home.
:-)
Wow! You have done a great job with the apartment! It looks like home and I know he will be so relieved to be there. Well done. I can't wait to read about the homecoming. We both have big days tomorrow, for the love of family and friends. My heart, prayers and thoughts are with you all!
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