Our Face To The Sun

After a good start yesterday morning with more walking, and another trip outside (thank you Martin), we had a rough afternoon. But this morning we are turning our faces to the sun to begin fresh and new.

Parker sat up for breakfast. We have decided that every meal, since he now gets "real" food ~ meaning broth and cream of wheat ~ he is going to sit at the edge of the bed and eat. This gets him back up an additional three times a day (good for the trunk, as our wonderful PT people say).

Our OT Cruise Director, Eric, will be happy to know Parker is also opening the juice boxes himself, using both hands at the same time to arrange the things on his tray, and is determined to be able to put his own socks on by the time he comes back to work Monday morning.

The new pain meds are easing into his system, and if we could get this stupid cough to go away Parker would probably have a lot less pain to manage. Parker is also taking a somewhat experimental drug to make the ileus go away. Time will tell if it works the way we hope it will work, but it is interesting to be involved in this test.

Parker told Martin yesterday, he feels like he can see the finish line and is eager to make it work. I was pretty convinced that after a sleepless night last night, Parker would tell me he didn't want to sit up, or maybe even eat. But he told nurse Miranda first thing, I'm sitting up for all my meals now, no matter how I feel. If I feel good enough to eat, I feel good enough to sit up.

Here are a few photos from our day yesterday.

First meal in 3 weeks. Mmm... mmmmm ... good! Broth, broth and more broth! That was yesterday, before he decided to sit up for each meal.

Below are Parker and The Martin (we gave him this nickname because Lindsey, our other PT Wonder-Person said "Martin trumps me, so whatever his decision is, that's what we have to do.") Get it? Trump? ~ The Donald? ~ hence, The Martin? Ha! Ha!

Martin also has a devious "big brother" streak in him. He sets me up to get in trouble. AND he tells people I break the machines. :-)

Speaking of mean streaks, I have to mention I saw one of the lung doctors in the hall yesterday. The lung doctors are the Critical Care Specialists who were responsible for Parker's overall care when he was ... well, when he was critically ill. Anyway, I only saw this particular doctor once, and I thought if I never saw him again it would be too soon. He said to me, while standing next to Parker's bed, while I am crying my eyes out, You know everything about your son is just so complicated, I just don't know what we can do for him, I just think it's pretty hopeless....

He was making reference to Parker's size, which has made this illness more challenging. Even very simple things like the fact that he is 6'4" tall, and has gigantic feet, they had to scrounge around to find hospital socks to fit him. Anyway, you KNOW what a rage a mother goes into when someone criticizes their child, and mine was laying in a bed, 4' away, dying, and this bozo says that to me.

So I saw him in the hallway yesterday and I whisked off my isolation stuff as fast as I could to go catch him. I wasn't fast enough and he had disappeared before I could get out there. But I wanted him to see Parker, and I wanted to tell him, My son WILL walk out of this hospital no matter what you thought! And next time you think it's appropriate, or kind, or helpful, to say those things you did to the mother of a very sick young man... think again Buster!

Okay, I feel better now. Thank for listening.