Recovery

Sam slept in the ICU with Jake last night which was a long night as he was very much in pain and cried most of the night. When I relieved her shift in the early morning, I wasn't prepared for what I saw. Gone was the quiet moaning and now Jake was really upset and crying and you could tell he was in some real pain. The massive surgery he went through was no longer numbed by a procedure called a block in his arms which basically numbed him from feeling in his arms the day prior. It is hard to watch your child in genuine pain when you are helpless to stop it. I had the nurse let me hold him in my arms in his favorite position and it did work at calming him to a degree although he was still crying and in pain. The nursing staff and Dr.'s took notice and decided to put Jake on continuous morphine drip that would self administer the drug calibrated to his weight and portion control. I met with a few of the associate dr.'s who took part in the surgery and they all discussed how much had been done but how great it went. When Dr. Upton came by he had photos of jake's hands before and after and it truly is amazing what this man can do. Jake has a hand with fingers and its a sight to see. This was a pleasant surprise as we weren't able to see the actual as the cast is over his entire hand like a club to allow the skin grafts to heal properly. Trust me when I say Dr. Upton is truly a surgical artist. Dr. Upton did talk about how great Jake's hands will be and also wanted us to know that he really feels that when Jake is done with his surgeries only a plastic surgeon would know he had apert. He feels he is really mild and looks great for a child with the condition. Let's hope this is true.

Anyway, Dr. Upton alleviated our worries that jake would have to leave the hospital today and said as long as he is in pain he would remain in the hospital. He did mention that jake could very well feel like himself by the end of the day. A notion we were very doubtful of due to his agitated condition. Jake did move out of the ICU to a regular room and interesting enough when we we wheeled him in his bed he stopped crying enjoying the ride. We then decided to put him in his stroller to see if that would help and sure enough wheeling him around the floor with his IV seemed to calm him. He was still crying a bit but nothing to the extent of earlier. Then the Dr.'s decided to "bivalve his cast" That basically means taking a handsaw and cutting zig zag lines into the cast to help alleviate pressure felt on his hands. The sound alone is wrenching but Jake was a true champ and only started crying when they had to do the second hand.

Then the joy came. all of a sudden, Jake finally ate his first bottle, then took his first poop, and started smiling and playing with us. It was a complete 180. finally we had our lil boy back. He was in so much pain earlier and thankfully by late afternoon he was himself and doing great. Truly amazing. We just left him at the hospital for the night as he was sleeping sound and we feel we might actually get some sleep knowing our boy is happy again. What a trooper.
We hope to discharge tomorrow and fly home on monday as planned.
Love,
L&S