Home

Some ventilator setting adjustments, a round of antibiotics, nine resuscitations after breath holds, a new trach tube (cuffed, ugh), tons of suctioning, one accidental decanulation and tube replacement, 5 days of charming the nurses, twice a day steroids by nebulizer, twice a day coffees by starbucks, two boxes of kleenex, and six new soothies later, we are home again.

Not yet well, but definitely on the mend.

Sick, Sick, Sick

Mommy is sick
Daddy is sick
And Drewby is sick too
What can it be?
We've all got the flu

Did you not get the last vaccination?
Influenza b seems to be the explanation
Not covered by that shot, so we are told
So now we are driving this sore congested road

We three are now in our most favourite place
To strangle this germ and kick it in the face
Where is this great spot, oh it sounds like such fun
The ICU of course is where we make this bug run

Here we now wait as Drewby gets well
No worries though, cause he thinks the place swell
Attention, admiration, much playing he gets done
Much thanks we must give those who care for this one

So what do we need, what is there to say?
Please think of us three by remembering to pray
Ask Jesus to heal our small family
We want to go home where it's only us three

Much apology is given for this poem that is lame
It is the Dad of the three where you must lay your blame
or maybe the flu...

One day in the life...

Wednesday, March 2, 2011
(for those interested in the minute details)

• 7:27 Drew wakes up and nurses (before you congratulate me on having a kid who sleeps in so late, let me note that 5am-7:30am was the longest consecutive stretch of sleep he got all night)
• 7:48 Drew plays on the bed with Daddy, Elmo, Grover, Ted and 4 soothers while mama showers
• 8:11 Drew cuddles in the carrier with mama and helps to get the morning Piracetam ready (cut the pills, crush the pills, dissolve the pills in water, mix with just enough lemon yogurt, and a little bit of baby oatmeal so its thick enough to stay on the spoon), make daddy's coffee, clean the suction bucket, and make mama's oatmeal
• 8:27 Drew and Mama sit down to eat breakfast at the table. Drew has a couple Puffs to get him started, but is not at all focused on eating his yogurt and Piracetam. We persist through multiple rounds of drop-the-spoon, fling-the-Puffs, and whip-around-to-look-out-the-window
• 8:54 We enlist Daddy to take over with the Piracetam since Mama is going to be late for work
  
• 8:56 Drew disagrees with this plan, cries, and holds his breath. We immediately hook up oxygen to his trach and he recovers quite quickly; it was a minor spell but was accompanied by a seizure
• 8:58 Drew has a sleepy recovery in Mama's arms
• 9:32 Drew is alert enough to play on the floor with Daddy. Mama leaves for work, she will be late (again)
• 10:05 Drew cuddles up in Daddy's arms in the easy chair for his morning nap
• 11:45 Drew wakes up and helps Daddy do a load of laundry
  
• 12:27 Mama comes home! Drew scoots down the hall as fast as his hands and knees can carry him
• 12:30 Drew nurses/plays on the bed with Mama
• 12:42 Drew hangs on Mama's legs in the kitchen while she gets lunch ready
  
• 12:55 Drew eats a pita chip, a few peas, and a couple bites of cheese and bacon** from Mama's pasta for lunch while Daddy showers.
  
• 1:15 Mama gets Drew dressed and his equipment ready to go
• 1:23 Drew and Daddy walk Mama to work and run a few errands at the bank and drugstore. Drew rides in his stroller like a champ, considering that he wouldn't even tolerate it a few months ago.
• 2:45 Drew and Daddy arrive back home
• 3:00 Drew naps in the easy chair with Daddy
• 5:00 Drew has his afternoon Piracetam and yogurt with Daddy
• 5:38 Mama comes home!
  
• 5:45 Drew nurses/plays with Mama (he's more interested in the playing this time)
  
• 6:00 Drew cuddles in the carrier with Mama while she makes supper, when she needs to put him down to get things done he sits at the kitchen door with Daddy and they throw things at Mama while she works
  
• 6:38 Drew sits down to supper of cheerios, quinoa salad**, and pureed pears, he eats some.
• 7:02 Drew and Daddy clean up the toys while Mama cleans up the kitchen (oh dishwasher, how you have changed my life for the better!)
• 7:27 Drew has a wild bath in the kitchen sink
• 7:40 Drew is dryed, diapered, and dressed all while trying to escape
• 7:54 Daddy gives Drew his Pulmacort through a nebulizer that attaches to his trach
• 8:03 Mommy and Drew do some toothbrush wrestling/ brushing
• 8:11 Mommy reads Drew 4 books (Jamberry, Open the Barn Door, My Nose My Toes and Me, and Hand Hand Fingers Thumb)
• 8:17 Drew nurses
• 8:32 Mama rocks Drew to sleep in the carrier.
• 9:06 Drew is asleep. Mama holds him on the bed (and types this blog with one hand)

**we balance out our super healthy foods with super junky foods so as to keep our overall food-healthiness quotient stable