We flew home early last Saturday morning, Oscar on tylenol and advil, me just on edge. Dr. C had gone way out of her way to see Oscar the day before and to check on his wound, which reassured me, but my mind was still spinning about the flight. Would he be comfortable? Could he manage … Continue reading Home! A’s! School!
GrandMary and I are getting a little punchy here. At times we feel like we're running a skilled nursing center: dispensing multiple meds up to three times per day, changing bandages, fitting in exercise, bathing, and healthy meals. Yesterday, we had Oscar sitting on the shower bench washing his underarms—left, right, left, right. I lost count, … Continue reading that healing feeling
Oscar finally got to check something big off his Summer List yesterday, post-surgery mini-golfing. He'd been eager to go ever since he'd gotten out of the hospital, begging us last Saturday, a mere two days post release. Dr. C, probably incredulous that we were considering it, said, "Maybe in a week." Paul and I were … Continue reading Mini-Golfing
It's been two weeks since Oscar's surgery and I alternate between feeling like he's having a record-breaking recovery and worrying that he won't be strong enough to fly home next Saturday as planned. Of course the truth lies in between. We're up in Connecticut now, at GrandMary and Grandpa's Lake House, having received the okay … Continue reading day 14
I got to the hospital early yesterday—my eyes had popped open at 5:14am, my brain and heart already racing with all the unknowns. Did Oscar have Central Adrenal Insufficiency? What if he did need surgery to resolve the pneumothorax*? Paul and Oscar were already awake when I arrived—the schedule of meds and x-rays prohibits more than … Continue reading day 7 adventures
Oscar's chest tube is still in—he's stopped draining fluid but the tube is sucking air, lots of air, and we can't figure out where it's coming from. From the incision site, or from the lung? Every possible explanation is "extremely unlikely" but clearly something is going on. He's bubbling away, day and night, like one … Continue reading the great experiment
So yeah, we're still in the hospital. Last time Oscar was released on day 4, and I'm pretty sure we'd have climbed out our 3rd floor window and escaped into Central Park if we'd not been let out the front door that day. Double tethers are more complicated than singles so we expected recovery to … Continue reading day 5
Oscar was feeling better by this evening. While he is still having bouts of lightheadedness and gas pain, his color and chatter have returned, and he has stopped complaining that his head hurts. What a relief. Our best guess, but we don't really know, is that the gas, plus sensitivity to the narcotics we were … Continue reading Improving
Oscar had a great night, sleeping a good chunk, but this morning he's lethargic and heavy-lidded, barely able to respond to simple questions. His belly is distended and he's sweaty and lightheaded. He's not that interested in liquids, even diluted apple juice, and we had to coax him to lick a grape popsicle. The abdominal … Continue reading Struggling
It was a long day of waiting in the hotel lobby. Joel, Drs. ABC's physician assistant, kept us updated throughout the morning with texts. At 11:30am we learned that the revision of the lumbar curve was finished and that they were closing Oscar up, which would take an hour or more, and then they would … Continue reading Relief
this boy 