The nurse practitioner removed the two remaining bulb chest tubes and the pacer wires today. Riley still has the pigtail drain in his left chest and the PICC line in his neck, but other than that he's tube- and drip-free. They used three nurses to pull things quickly and all at once, we got away with just one big "OUCH". Unfortunately the pigtail comes with the VCR-sized drainage box so moving him is still difficult. This afternoon we're going to try to pack him into a red wagon and take him down to the child life room. We're hoping that a change of pace will improve his spirits. Further, he should be feeling more comfortable now that those tubes are out.
Emotionally, Riley is the same. We still haven't seen him smile and he doesn't speak much. He did ask for Mom to "read a book" when he was sedated earlier for the chest tubes. He also isn't eating much - he has hardly eaten anything today or yesterday. We have been spending time with the child life specialist since we're fresh out of ideas. Just talking to him as if he is the "old" Riley doesn't seem to be getting us anywhere.
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
More tubes are out
Posted by Ken Norton at 4/05/2006 02:45:00 PM
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4 comments:
Hi. I am hoping that ride in the little red wagon helps him today. Also being back in that playroom where he played before surgery may be good therapy for him. I remember when i found the little haywagon that fit on the back of his tractor and he said "Hooray for Grammy for finding it." Seems like months ago. I miss him and you both and I am confident he will come around emotionally. Thanks for the update. Love you, Grammy
So sorry to hear that riley is sad!!! We love you all!!!
Great to hear that tubes are coming out. That can only be good for everyone. I can't imagine how crap it must be to have R being so miserable. Everything I write sounds like a platitude so I won't write anything more, just to say that we're thinking of you all the time. How much longer do you think you'll be in for? I think our bug has nearly gone, but we'll give it til next week before we come up again. How do you fancy a batch of hot cross buns? Not sure I can manage fat free ones for R but I could give it a try!!
Keep your chins up.
All our love
Jude et al
Hey guys, I know it's frustrating to see him so grumpy. It's going to be a long recovery and it's tough for a little guy to understand.
But, let me just say as a parent... even when my kids have something as trivial as a stomach virus, they're like different people. My 2-year-old had a nasty one a few weeks ago, and his whole personality changed. Of course, we as parents want so much to do something to help them through it, but what can we do?
So while it must be so tough to see Riley so depressed and listless, remember that he's probably just feeling really crappy right now. It may be that he just has to recover physically before he can start to be himself emotionally again. In the meantime, your constant love and support will help him immensely. He's so lucky to have you as parents.
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