A good day and a rough spot

Micah had another good day today! He went on a long walk around the floor with a full entourage of parents and grandparents. I was the IV tower toter, a much more difficult job than you would think. He was talking normally, though not as much. His memory and verbal skills seem to be perfectly fine. His pain seems to be minimal. He even got the giggles when playing games with grandma and daddy! The big downside is swelling. After having very little yesterday and this morning, the left side of his face quickly swelled to the point of his left eye being completely closed. He looks like two different kids depending on which side you see him from. From the right he looks mostly normal, from the left he is very, very puffy. This is completely expected with the surgery he had, and also because he has been on IV fluids for more than 36 hours. When the surgeon came in the second time today he said, "Oh, that swelling is not too bad. It will still get worse probably till tomorrow." This is turning out to be true. I noticed how fast it was happening when I went to lunch for about a half hour and came back and he looked completely different--that's how quickly it was happening. 

We waited all day long for him to have his MRI, and it finally happened about 6:30 tonight. So, except for two hours today when he could have clear fluids, he has had nothing to eat or drink for more than 48 hours. We were swabbing his lips and tongue with a sponge on a stick dipped in water to relieve his dry mouth and lips. He was such a trooper, though. I am continually amazed at his flexibility and calm, even when he asks repeatedly for food and all we were able to day is, "maybe later." What a sweet child he has been, throughout this time so far.

He said he wanted to go home today, too, which is good. Though I think it is unlikely we will go home tomorrow since he will be on only clear fluids at least until tomorrow morning. There are a lot of things that need to happen before we think of actually leaving. 

He also had the roughest patch we've seen this evening. His pain medication dose was delayed because of the MRI and so we think he was uncomfortable, as well as extremely tired, which made him sad and weepy. He also just came out of general anesthesia from the MRI again, so that could also play a role. Once the meds got into his system, he was able to calm down and fall asleep peacefully.

That's how I left him at the hospital. David is there overnight again while I am at the RMH nearby. I hope they both get some sleep tonight. Vitals only every 2 hours instead of every 4!