It was a long and hairy night in the recovery/observation room.
Sometime between two and five am, the catheter The Charmer was using, blocked. As he was being pumped full of fluids, they started to leak around the catheter site and within a short period of time the entire bed, blanket, and his new cast was soaked with urine. That was an unfortunate thing in itself, but the fact that I could not get the nurse to DO ANYTHING about it, made me nearly crazy. I was told, over and over again, that I "must wait to talk to the doctor after nine am." Then a second nurse came on duty at seven am. Same story, only this time, the situation had grown even worse and now The Charmer was really uncomfortable as the cast over his midsection was causing increasing pressure on his bladder that could not be adequately emptied. His whole face started to look very puffy and superman did not feel so super anymore. I thought I was going to hurt someone.
Amazingly, when our surgeon/teammate came at 8 am, I was fit to be tied and he remedied it, HIMSELF, in a matter of moments. Then he and I carried The Charmer, cast and cape, "flying" through the hallway to our semi-private :) room..semi-private is such a funny term here...all night last night people were opening our curtains, lifting the sheets to see The Charmer's battle scars...staring, prodding, poking...without any sense of intrusion. However, the surgeon's getting involved personally and taking care of what should have been the nurses' duty, caused a major face issue for the nurses, but it was expedient and effective. I heard the retell of it several times in the hallway of the ward during the day! The result of this catheter mishap resulted in a major reworking of his cast and new bandages in every location we could reach.
He's got quite a bit of pain, especially around the incision spots. He is up and down emotionally, and makes it clear to everyone that: 1) He hates needles. 2) He's got to "get out of here." 3) Everyone needs to say sorry to him.
I am home now, Daddy is sitting bedside, and we're trying to attend to everyone's needs. I will shower, clean up everyone here, and have some time with them...then I'll return to the hospital tonight about 10 and Daddy will come home as he must drive the kids to school in the morning and teach his first class at 8 am. I don't teach until 1:30 in the afternoon...he'll return to the hospital to relieve me. And so it goes...
The other big issue of the day was that The Bug, had some serious abdominal pain, focused in one area of her abdomen...that presented as a possible appendicitis. I got the call at 10 am that Daddy and she were on her way to the hospital to be seen in emergency. I needed to register her (a circus in itself), meet their car and take her to emergency and then to the different departments for necessary testing. (Here, no matter how much pain you are in, the patient must walk/be carried from department to department of the hospital for testing. Whether it be blood draws, x-ray, ultrasound, cat scan...everything is in its location...and the patient prepays the fee, then goes to the department in various different buildings/floors, on foot to have the tests run. This was no easy task for a girl with a severe stomach pain. We have seen many times, people taken outside on gurneys from building to building in the snow/rain/whatever, so that they can have their tests run.
The tests showed some problems with white cell count, some reasons for abdominal pain (not appendicitis, thank the Lord), and she has come home tonight to rest. Please lift her up as she is still not feeling very well and wants her Momma who will be away again tonight. For awhile today, I thought we might be on the surgical floor two times in two days with two different kids!
There will be more blood work tomorrow, and if there is no sign of infection, we may be sent home with superman to begin his six week total bed rest. He must lie down all the time, no sitting up, but CAN have a pillow under his head. I'm sure you can imagine how much fun this will be as we're also set to move house (to one with heat on the first floor!) in just nine days. :)
More children entered our sphere today, more courageous parents who are fighting for their kids, fighting for those who have needs! Ah, I feel so humbled to be among them! These are real champions. While I know from a Western perspective that seems dramatic, you might think "of course, you do anything for your child"...but here, due to the costs of health care payable up front, very few doctors who ever give a good prognosis for a child with needs as they are afraid of themselves being defamed if the child doesn't have a complete recovery, and the pressure in the society to have ONE perfect kid...these parents who we're mingling with now...they are my heroes.
I thought about the loneliness of a child without someone to fight for them. Some of our own children were once those, without parents, without someone to take up their cause. I felt quite alone for a bit while I waited for Daddy to come to join me in the surgical wait (yes, I should have savored time alone, but it felt very vulnerable, very out of control with our boy in the OR) I wept and prayed and told God everything I was feeling...and then I remembered the army of family and friends carrying us before the Throne...and I was awash with comfort.
I hope that it is that same feeling of comfort that the Charmer experiences when I wash him, wipe his brow, protect him and reassure him during the scary parts. He's just a little boy on an enormous journey, he needs his Dad and Mom to do everything we can to help him now. I am so glad we can be there for him.
We are too, little children, in our Father's eyes...those who need loving care to manage this journey. While my parenting is flawed and painfully limited, His is perfect and unlimited...when all else fails, He remains.
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