We got settled into 7C pretty well. Caden continues to do good. Sherry and I got Caden off to sleep tonight so that we could have a romantic anniversary dinner. Okay, I am sure Sherry would say that romantic is not the right word. We had Kick’n Chicken delivery on paper plates by hospital room lamp light. We tried creating a little mood by eating with only the glow of the telemetry box LCD display, but that thing just does not give the same affect as candle light. The Kick’n Chicken is not exactly our idea of a romantic anniversary meal either even though many of the natives in these parts might disagree with us.
All kidding aside, I want to say that we feel so blessed in terms of our situation with Caden. I know that may sound weird with my child lying in a hospital bed tonight with cuts all over him like he has been in a knife fight. What I am getting at is that we have been reminded this week of the struggles that families go through with heart babies. Caden had some neighbors in the ICU this week who were dealing with some tough stuff. We watched a few slide back. Some of these kids even do it without a parent at their side and I wish I could understand what circumstances cause this to be so. I guess I just saw things differently this week because I was not torn up emotionally like during Caden’s first surgery back in 2004.
We went in on Thursday and have seen pretty much what we expected with Caden’s procedures and recovery. The same is not true for all families who have traveled the same halls and rooms that we have been in this week. Our week did not come without emotion and tears for Caden and ourselves, but I can say for certain that I am thankful for the few tears we did experience. Some families around us had to endure some hard times this week.
We thank you for your prayers and we ask you to continue to pray for Caden as well as the other children up there and especially those without parents at their side. You have to be staff or official volunteers to physically help comfort these babies so I can only ask for your prayers.
We have friends locally and on the Internet who have struggles that make our situation look like a picnic. Please also pray specifically for Emory, Alex, Callie, Noah and their families in the coming days and weeks. All of these children and families need all the prayer support they can muster.
I have been asked by some what they can do for us. I will say that meals at the hospital can be tricky when Sherry or I are alone with Caden. We can not leave him for an extended amount of time. So bringing something to eat for which ever one of us is at the hospital can be a big help at times. Just a visit from a friend without food is nice too, especially when we are up there alone with Caden. While visiting us, you think that we seem busy as bee with Caden’s tube feed, suctioning, giving medicine, flushing his tube, and of course the trusty old diaper changes, etc. If you can stomach being around that kind of stuff without being guaranteed any focused conversation, then the adult interaction is a nice mix to those activities for us. We are in the 7C unit of the MUSC Children’s Hospital in downtown Charleston. Call before you come though, because we known to drum up some discharge papers quickly. I am not sure if they get tired of us or they just trust us to act in Caden’s best interest, but they do seem to let us go when we start to ask for a discharge.
Thanks again for your prayers. Happy Father’s Day to all the dads reading this!!!