Well, I have not been good about posting every day like I had hoped I'd be able to. We've been busier than I thought we would be and I wasn't able to access my computer the first day we were here. I am going to update you on each day anyways, because this is my only journal and I like you to know what's going on with Joel. We
appreciate all the prayers and thoughts.
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When we left on Wednesday morning, Joel was only able to eat a few bites of Jello. We stopped at Dollar Tree for a
mylar balloon (which he LOVES). He was a happy boy. We had a long two hour car ride. It always amazes me that he is in such a good mood on the mornings of testing where he can't eat because he's going to be sedated. Of course, he doesn't know what's coming, but it always surprises me that he is so happy even without food for hours. I thank God for giving Joel such a sweet, loving spirit.
When we got to UCLA, Joel was admitted to the hospital. From there he was taken to the unit where he awaited being taken for sedation and the lead placement. He became more and more scared as time passed. It only got worse with each person in scrubs or a white doctors coat who passed or stopped to talk to us. Soon he had people talking about how good and strong his lungs were. He is loud when he
crys his terrified cry. The lady who was trying to talk to us and get information was so sweet and understanding, she took all three of us out in the hallway to finish getting information so that he would stop crying. Then she took us to the "toy room", gave him a teddy bear, let him pick out a toy and loaned him
Jinga blocks to play with while we waited. She then took us to a different room without a bed, spread a blanket on the floor and let him sit on it and stack the blocks while we waited. This made him much happier and he didn't cry again until we laid him on the table where they were going to put an IV in and sedate him to place the leads. He fought it so hard that they had to use the gas to put him to sleep before they place the IV with the sedative. The next time we saw him was an hour later when he was waking up with a white bandage cap covering the leads. We were wheeled to the pediatric floor where we were placed in a double room. We had hoped to have a private room, but it wasn't too bad sharing. We even made some new friends. The couple and little boy we shared a room with the first night were even Christians. The picture below was taken shortly after getting to the room.
Right after that picture was taken, Joel started throwing up. We still don't know why, but my guess would be a reaction to sedation. He threw up for about six hours until they gave him an anti-
nausea medicine through the IV. We had hoped to avoid the IV before coming to the hospital, but at this point I was very thankful that the IV had been placed while he was out. He never complained about having the IV in. After he got the anti-
nausea medication he perked up and ate a few bites of jello, apple juice and a saltine cracker, not much but better than nothing. So that was all he had to eat in 24 hours. This picture was taken when he was starting to feel better:
I wanted to share the picture below because we had an incredible view out of our window. It was even more spectacular at night. It's amazing how even the smallest blessings can help.
When we got to UCLA, Joel was admitted to the hospital. From there he was taken to the unit where he awaited being taken for sedation and the lead placement. He became more and more scared as time passed. It only got worse with each person in scrubs or a white doctors coat who passed or stopped to talk to us. Soon he had people talking about how good and strong his lungs were. He is loud when he crys his terrified cry. The lady who was trying to talk to us and get information was so sweet and understanding, she took all three of us out in the hallway to finish getting information so that he would stop crying. Then she took us to the "toy room", gave him a teddy bear, let him pick out a toy and loaned him Jinga blocks to play with while we waited. She then took us to a different room without a bed, spread a blanket on the floor and let him sit on it and stack the blocks while we waited. This made him much happier and he didn't cry again until we laid him on the table where they were going to put an IV in and sedate him to place the leads. He fought it so hard that they had to use the gas to put him to sleep before they place the IV with the sedative. The next time we saw him was an hour later when he was waking up with a white bandage cap covering the leads. We were wheeled to the pediatric floor where we were placed in a double room. We had hoped to have a private room, but it wasn't too bad sharing. We even made some new friends. The couple and little boy we shared a room with the first night were even Christians. The picture below was taken shortly after getting to the room.
Right after that picture was taken, Joel started throwing up. We still don't know why, but my guess would be a reaction to sedation. He threw up for about six hours until they gave him an anti-nausea medicine through the IV. We had hoped to avoid the IV before coming to the hospital, but at this point I was very thankful that the IV had been placed while he was out. He never complained about having the IV in. After he got the anti-nausea medication he perked up and ate a few bites of jello, apple juice and a saltine cracker, not much but better than nothing. So that was all he had to eat in 24 hours. This picture was taken when he was starting to feel better:
I wanted to share the picture below because we had an incredible view out of our window. It was even more spectacular at night. It's amazing how even the smallest blessings can help.
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