Saturday, June 20, 2009

The 6th floor

At 10:00 last night we were finally moved out of the PICU and to 6th floor (way too late to be transfered, in my opinion). We had never been to the sixth floor before, so the past 16 hours have been a unique experience for us. Up until a few hours ago we were sharing a room with another child recovering from surgery. Whoever thought that sharing rooms in a Children's Hospital was a good idea must not have children of their own. It is an awful idea! We had a very sleepless, anxious night. The little boy we shared a room with was very sick. He vomited all through the night, in between watching tv with the light next to his bed shining brightly and moaning from the pain he was experiencing. I wasn't upset at all with the poor kid who was obviously suffering. I felt horrible for him. He deserved his own room. Especially since Elijah wakes up naturally at 5:30 every morning, talking very loudly.

By the early morning hours, the nurses and doctors were discovering that this other little boy was really really sick. They got him transferred down to the PICU where he could be better cared for, so since about 10:00 we have had the room to ourselves and life has been much more tolerable (and hopefully life for the other little boy is much more tolerable as well). Elijah took a little nap and Dan and I even were able to shut our eyes for a short bit.

Elijah is doing great! The Voice removed his dressing a while ago and his stitches look great. This morning he was kneeling along side the edge of his crib and it freaked me out! The doctor said that as long as it doesn't appear to bother him, he can do whatever he wants. He still doesn't love being on his back, but tolerates it better than he did yesterday. All of his vitals are perfect perfect perfect, and he has an appetite that is voracious. He is mostly content lying around, watching shows and playing with toys.

We will most likely be here until at least Tuesday. We are praying for no new roommate (for everyone's sake), but we will see what the rest of today brings. Hospital life is just dreadful. It sure makes us appreciate our home.

Thanks for checking in on us. Pray with us for an uneventful rest of our stay (oh, and for the swine flu to stay down at the end of the hall)!

10 comments:

Cecilia said...

So pleased to hear about the great progress of Elijah's recovery. I am praying for you guys for a quiet and peaceful rest of your stay.

Lots of love from Ceci & Paul xoxo

Jane said...

I agree that hospital roommates stink! The new Children's Hospital in Chicago is going to have only single rooms. I can't wait until 2012!

Sorry that you had a rough night. Hang in there!

Ehlan said...

Oh geez, what an experience. Lots of prayers about healing and no swine flu. Oh yes, and I will still be your friend :) (even though we've never met...weird...) Maybe when the kids graduate from high school.

Sarah said...

Glad you have your own room now! Praying today has been a good day for your little man.

mina said...

What a stressful night! It must be great to be alone with Elijah and be able to focus on his recovery. Great to hear that he's making progress!

Wendy said...

It's cool you got to meet MckMama, but Eli is just as famous as Stellan and just as important to us blog-stalkers!!!!!

Jess said...

I'm so glad to hear that he's doing well! Hope the other little guy is all right, and that the swine flu stays far, far away from everyone!

~Jess

Tina:0) said...

I know what you mean about the roommate thing. Vaeh's last open heart when she went to the floor, there was two other little girls in with her. The first was discharged shortly after we got there, then the other girl's family drove me nuts! Glad you're finally "alone."

Sounds like he's doing great! I'm so glad that he's doing so well. Give him big hugs from us!

PS - Hopefully the swine flu listens better than Elijah's buddy, the cough! Stay away swine flu!

Tiffers said...

Yeah! Happy Father's Day to your sweet hubby! So glad you finally have a room to yourself. FYI...after Will had his surgery w/ Nagib, we went to 6th and shared a room with a 1 year old that was developmentally a 3/4 month old. I think it was baby shaken syndrome, which breaks my heart. None the less, his family didn't visit much and he cried the entire time (we were there almost a week) and Will had a 4 inch incision on the back of his head. He was 3! He still talks about "Chance" today...Will is almost 9. They really should have private rooms like the 3rd floor. I will pray for you to have no new roomies during your stay.

Tiffany

Anonymous said...

I have been reading about your latest stay in the hospital and have been keeping you all in my prayers. If you ever want to get away for awhile we have would love to have you all come and visit in Michigan.
Love,
Aunt Marsha