Hope for Baby Bennett: It's getting real, y'all

Sunday, March 3, 2013

It's getting real, y'all

We've still battling through the dance of maintaining enough pain meds on board that Dusk is fairly comfortable, but not so much that he's passed out. It's definitely an up and down battle, and those of you who are Facebook friends with me have heard my horror stories about the nursing staff here (some good, some bad and a LOT of miscommunication all the way around).

The good news is that Dusk is eating more, so gaining more strength. And yesterday they tried to get him out of bed and didn't have any luck. But today, with a good night's sleep under his belt (brought on by some hefty doses of Dilaudid!), he was able to not just sit up at the edge of the bed, but walk across the room and back to his bed! YAY!!! It could have been the Dilaudid, it could have been the great cheering done by the PT and me. Or...it could have been the statement she made that "You know, most patients who aren't ready go to home by day 3 are sent to a Skilled Nursing Facility to finish their rehab." For the under 40 set who read the blog, that's basically an old folks home. Fun stuff, right? Totally where a 39 year old guy wants to go to recover from surgery. So, like I was saying, some combination of those 3 things convinced him to get out of bed and walk, so I'll take it. ;-) He's now back in bed, passed out, but he PT said he did 1,000x better today than yesterday, and that she wants to get him walking down the hall this afternoon.

My mom brought the kids to the hospital yesterday, where Sierra was super excited to show Dusk and I the beautiful cards she had made for us and Bodie peppered Dusk with all sorts of questions ("Why do you have that thing (the iv) in your arm? Why do you have that (the cotton ball with tape from the iv)? Did it hurt? That (an orange tag) should NOT be on the on the pulse ox (the same one we have at home)! Let's tell the nurse! Why do you have a special potty? Are you ok?" and on and on and on. It was very cute to see how interested he was with everything and the kids had a lot of fun visiting.

And a HUGE shout out to my mom, who has taken care of the kids ALL WEEKEND so that I could be at the hospital as much as possible! Thank you mom - we never could have done this without you!

Please keep the prayers coming for Dusk, both for pain management and that we can get him moving and out of here!

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The Chosen Mothers by Erma Bombeck

Most women become mothers by accident, some by choice, a few by social pressures, and a couple by habit. Did you ever wonder how mothers of children with life threatening illnesses are chosen?

Somehow, I visualize God hovering over Earth selecting His instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As He observes, He instructs His angels to make notes in a giant ledger. "Armstrong, Beth, son, patron saint Matthew. Forrest, Marjorie, daughter, patron saint Cecilia. Rutledge, Carrie, twins, patron saint Gerard."

Finally, He passes a name to an angel and says, "Give her a child with cancer." The angel is curious. "Why this one God? She's so happy." "Exactly" smiles God, "Could I give a child with cancer a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel."

"But, does she have patience?" asks the angel. "I don't want her to have too much patience or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wears off, she will handle it." "I watched her today. She has that feeling of self and independence that is so rare and so necessary in a mother. You see, the child I'm going to give her has it's own world. She has to make it live in her world and that's not going to be easy."

"But, Lord, I don't think she believes in you." No matter, I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just enough selfishness." The angel gasps -"Selfishness? is that a virtue?"

God nods. "If she can't separate herself from the child occasionally, she'll never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with a child less than perfect. She doesn't realize it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take anything her child does for granted. She will never consider a single step ordinary. I will permit her to see clearly the things I see...ignorance, cruelty, prejudice...and allow her to rise above them." She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life, because she is doing My work as surely as if she is here by My side." "And what about her patron Saint?" asks the angel. His pen poised in mid-air. God smiles, "A mirror will suffice."