Day 4 of PICU!

Saturday night through Sunday night.  

This is going to be a lot MORE detail than anyone of you likely want to know, but I am documenting for my memory sake! Hewitt has been in a lot of pain because of the two chest tubes. It hurts every time he moves or coughs. He also had lots of severe pain today(Sunday) because as the fluid moves out the ling can keep expanding and this can be very painful. He actually pointed to his mid chest instead of the chest tube site today when referring to his "owie". :-( Friday and Saturday night sleeping was worse than the first night. Partly because he is more aware and we have had to move more during the day. If you come near him he starts to tense up because he wonders if you are going to move him or stick him! He has continued to be on narcotics, but we moved from morphine to Norco with Motrin. If you are in scrubs, he immediately doesn't want to be your friend! LOL!! We walked again today and everyday time he does he gets a little faster. Partly, because I think he wants to get back in the bed. Yesterday when we made him walk he also had to step on the scale to weigh, so today when he walked he "hurried" and did the same lap around the hall and stepped on the scale even though he didn't have to weigh. I think he thought that was the routine and the faster he did the routine the faster he could sit down. It as sad and funny. I have stayed every night, but last night I stayed until 4am and Rocky relieved me, so I got to get 4 hours of straight sleep early Sunday am at home. WHAT A DREAM!!!

He has talked very little and has three phrases he says often......"mommy", "owie", and "NO".  I miss seeing him smile and talk. We bought our first portable movie device and he watched Mickey Mouse with his best friend Harry and I know that makes him feel better, even though you can't really tell. I told Harry to pray for brother's left lung so now when you prompt him with the word "left" he says, "Broly left lung feel better".

We will likely get the chest tubes out tomorrow(Monday) which is a great sign. To get the tubes out you have to have less than 30cc of fluid coming out of the chest tubes in 24 hours! YAY!! It has slowly trended down. Part of the disease process from an empyema(infection in and of the pleural space that surrounds the lung) is a distended abdomen. On top of that he hadn't gone the bathroom in 4 days. I knew he was really miserable so we gave him a suppository. I regretted giving this to him before bed because he was up all night in pain because it forced his bowels to start moving the hard stool, which was very was painful. BUT.....he had a MAJOR blowout.....MAJOR.....so at least he must feel better after that! He saved that for when his daddy got here. DARN...I missed it! LOL!!

OVERALL.....the doctors say that he has progressed really well and fast considering how sick he was. I think they are surprised. I am not.....Hew is very strong!! 

On another note, please be praying for another patient here in the PICU. He is 6-10 weeks old(not sure of age) and has no family that I have seen in 5 days. I have overheard a couple things, but I won't share publicly. I plan on talking to the social worker today.  I would love to help him in whatever way we can! I know it is probably a long shot to take him home, but if that is God's will it will be. Even if it were to hold him and love him for just a short bit until he has a home again. NO newborn baby should ever be without LOVE or someone to hold him. He hasn't had anyone holding him since I got here, except the nurses interaction. He is so precious. I want to go squeeze him!! Please pray for him and his future! 

SO....as I sit with a Hewitt, even when he was so critical, I am reminded to be grateful for two things specifically. First, to be grateful that we will near modern medicine. How many children in this world have ZERO access to life saving procedures and medication. Hewitt would be dead without them. We take this for granted everyday. We are so blessed. How many mothers sit and hold their sick, dying child with zero hope? It is happening everyday all around the world. Dying form infections and disease we cure every minute of everyday. How many of us complain about what other cultures would die to have?? Guilty. I am so thankful to live in this great country(even with all our flaws)!! Even on our worst of days, it is FAR greater than the majority of the world. Be THANKFUL!!! Second, I am grateful that my boys have parents that love and hug them everyday. We may be sick right now, but Hewitt has never known a day without love, hugs, and kisses. Thankful that I never went without someone to hold me. We know that physical touch is a necessity of life. Pray for that baby. 

Watching Mickey on "my computor".

Our FAVE nurse!!! She is so precious and is fostering twin girls with Cystic Fibrosis!

So GREAT to see him smile, even if for only a minute!!! Melted my heart!