Skip to main content

Saturday Update: 9/24/05

Today has been a pretty quiet day for the most part. Matt’s doing pretty much the same. The physical therapists came by today and had him propped up on the edge of the bed again. He was able to stay sitting fairly well with some help from the therapists. He’d respond when they told him he was leaning and he’d work to correct it. That exercise tired him out pretty quickly though. I think it’s just going to take some time to build up even the smallest amount of endurance and strength. The occupational therapist came next and worked on moving his hands, arms, and fingers. He did pretty well with these exercises too and the therapist said he felt stronger on the right hand. I was tickled to hear that, as the right side was the one that was affected early on. After all that hard work, he was very tuckered and took a good long nap.

This afternoon the nurse noticed that the night nurse had charted his pupils as being equal. This whole time he’s been in the hospital they have not been equal. Today, they are not equal. This caused some concern for the nurse who reported it to the neurologist on call. He in turn, ordered another CT scan to see if there has been some sort of change since last night. I am sitting here now waiting for him to return. My gut tells me that the night nurse simply made a mistake in her notes or her judgment and the CT will show that nothing has changed. Matt had an MRI yesterday. The report did not show anything new, and nothing out of the ordinary. The view is still clouded by the remaining blood from his hemorrhage, so they’ll likely do another one in the coming months. I was relived then, however, to hear that no other malformed vessels are appearing!! Please continue to pray that everything will return to normal in his brain and this event will be a one-time deal!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Because we had the MRI yesterday, I am nearly certain that the CT will show no changes either, or at least nothing negative. I hope the CT shows a slight improvement in the swelling and size of the hemorrhage. We shall see. I know the dr is just being cautious. He is not his usual neurologist, just the one on call.

Fast forward…well, the CT results came back and things look the same. No changes or problems presenting themselves! Yahoo! J Matt is resting comfortably in the big geri-chair. (A huge monstrosity of a chair, which resembles a throne.)

He is continuing to be annoyed by that pesky feeding tube. The speech pathologist should be coming this weekend, or Monday to do an evaluation of his swallowing. I hope that visit goes well and we can think about getting that tube out soon and start him on liquids. Please be thinking positive thoughts about that too. Getting that tube out will be a huge milestone for us. Tonight I am going to sleep at home. This is the first time since Matt has been in the hospital that I have been home to sleep. I am a little insecure about leaving him…it’s hard to think of him being here alone. I pray that I will be able to get a good night’s sleep, so that I can continue to give him my all each day. Please be thinking of me tonight…and pray for a peaceful night for him too.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Carrie Anne - The Beginning of the Story

So, I’ve been trying to sort out how to start this story. It’s been difficult to articulate. Difficult to pick which details to share, and which to hold close. But it’s a story too good, too beautiful, not to share – so here goes! When Matt and I first became parents, we thought our family was complete. We envisioned raising Ethan surrounded by loving friends and family – just the two of us. Given all that we had gone through to finally become parents, we felt content with just the one child. The most adorable boy in the whole wide world. Our Ethan was the apple of our eyes – the most amazing gift. We marveled at all of his accomplishments, soaked up all his love and personality, and celebrated the joy of parenthood at every exhausting, wonderful turn. Along the way, we’ve built a strong and loving relationship with Ethan’s birthmother. We visit yearly, and stay in close contact with pictures, emails, and texts. I have attempted to describe my feelings for her many times over the

A Glimpse Into Open Adoption

If you had been a customer of the Longhorn Steakhouse on Highway 19 in Palm Harbor, FL last Sunday night, you may have seen two couples walking through the restaurant, oogling a sweet baby boy on the way to their table. You may have commented on how cute he was. You may have thought he looked a lot like the woman carrying him. You may have wondered about the man in the wheelchair. But you likely would not have assumed you’d be witnessing this baby’s biological parents sit down to dine with his adoptive parents. It’s a scene I’ve been playing over and over in my mind as I recount the wonderful experiences of our trip to Florida. The magnitude of that moment, that evening, will never be lost on me. It was incredible to be a part of – and I’m so very grateful we had it. We had met up with Ethan’s birthmother, L, earlier in the day. She hadn’t seen him since he was a few hours old and was anxiously waiting for us outside a local mall. As soon as we saw each other the tears welled up in o

Carrie - The Wait and the Big Arrival!

We arrived in Florida midday Saturday and made our way to the hospital where we met up with Ethan’s birthmother and her mother. We spent a long afternoon in the waiting room while the doctors and nurses put L through a myriad of tests. Finally, they verified the need to induce labor and proceeded to admit her to the hospital with plans to start the induction process Sunday. Exhausted, we left to check in at the hotel and ate what we thought may be our last supper before the baby came…but…. Sunday we arrived at the hospital mid-morning to see how things were progressing. The nurses gave L a medication to help start the dilation process around 12:30 PM…and told us it would likely take 12 hours for things to progress. We stepped out to enjoy the Florida sunshine for lunch for a bit, then settled in for the long haul at the hospital. We spent all afternoon, evening, and night together – holding watch over L as she slept. As we sat there, listening to the baby’s heart beating on the mon