9/7/2011 - No IV Tube

Today has been a really encouraging day.  Sam was still having a great deal of head pain this morning, but once we got through that he did his exercises, took a walk, and ate an entire go-gurt, two small grape juices and most of one Pop-tart.  Biggest meal yet.  I requested a protein supplement for him today and they sent down a nutritionist who agreed that was a good idea.  Sam is still having trouble chewing due to jaw pain from both the traction and now getting used to the collar, so he prefers soft food at the moment.  While that starts to heal he will get a calorie and protein boost from the powder.  I mixed it with another chocolate shake.  (Good thing we see the dentist in Oct. after all the liquid sugar he has consumed).

He was awake longer than ever this morning and enjoyed some one-liners that grandma read from a joke book a friend sent, and even chuckled at most of them.  He gets irritable at times with the pain and the work, but irritable is an improvement over the blankness of the past days.  Overall, his spirits are greatly improved.

Sam had an x-ray this afternoon.  I believe it is the last check that everything is well aligned before we leave.  Next ones will be when we come back for a follow-up in about 2 weeks.  I just obtained my copy of all the CTs, x-rays, and MRI's that have been done here yesterday, so I should have known they would sneak in one more today.

About 1:30 today they disconnected his IV morphine pump.  He began his new oral pain med at the same time.  I think I can already tell what an improvement it is to his grogginess.  They have to leave the IV in his arm the rest of the day "just in case" but we are all thrilled that it has a saline stop and is hanging loose instead of hooked up to anything.  The feeling of freedom makes me heady, I can only imagine how good it feels to Sam.  He still has to be hooked to all the vitals until we leave, but those are easy to disconnect for walks, etc.  This is the last step we are aware of to going home, so I believe they will make sure his pain is controlled on the new med, do any last minute PT/OT, and then let us go maybe tomorrow or Friday.  Hooray!

This morning Sam and I had a long talk about how sometimes when it is the hardest to feel thankful is when we most need to remind ourselves of everything we have to be thankful for.  We talked about how hard everything is that he is going through, and how hard it is to deal with the pain. Then we talked about the fact that he was coming to a place where he had a choice to make.  He could choose to hold on to sadness and not let any joy infiltrate his pain, or he could choose to appreciate the small moments that tempt him to smile now and then, in spite of the pain.  We took turns sharing what we were grateful for.  He was grateful that he gets to go home soon.  I was grateful for the people who have prayed for us and sent their love and support in many ways.  I asked Sam what else he was grateful for.  His answer, "I am grateful that God is in control."  Amen, Sam.  Amen.  Praise God.