Almost Home - Friday Update

CJ & I both had a great night's sleep.  We slept through the night and only woke up when doctors started making their rounds.

The surgery team came by at 6:45AM.  The doctor wanted him eating more; he hasn't had much of an appetite.  CJ had been concerned about a "bubble" of puss that had developed on his right incision, but the doctor wasn't as concerned about it, because it was draining.

Between 7:00 & 11:00, CJ had a rough time.  His pain level went up again, and the pain returned before he could have more Oxycodone.  His left incision was hurting a lot.  (This is the side that had the I&D yesterday.)  His morale really dropped, he pain wasn't really being alleviated, and he was refusing to eat (even after getting him a milkshake at 9:00 in the morning).  He said it felt like someone was pressing on the upper left side of his chest and at the same time a had was reaching in trying to pull out the lower left ribs.  There was a weird pinching/tugging feeling.  Finally, a little before 11:00, CJ was able to get some Oxycodone and Motrin.

Dr. Dassinger, who performed the surgery, came in to check on CJ.  He said he wanted to make sure the pain was under control with oral meds before we leave.  He wasn't as concerned about the lack of appetite; he felt that would return as the infection and swelling go down.

By 11:30, the Oxycodone had kicked in, and CJ felt much better and wanted to get out of the room for a while.  We got a wheelchair and went outside to a park/playground area of the hospital, stopped into the gift shop and got some candy, and went to cafeteria for lunch, where CJ actually ate a little bit!

At 1:15PM, we had a bit of a treat!  CJ had asked a Child Life specialist named Emily (who happened to be the same lady that talked to us in pre-op) if there was any way he could go see the hospital's Angel One helicopter.  Emily was able to schedule a tour for us, and we got to go to the helipad on top of the hospital to see the helicopter.  It was definitely the highlight of CJ's day!  He even left with some goodies from the flight team.

At 1:45PM, CJ had a couple of friends came to visit.  He was still in good spirits.  While CJ was visiting with his friends, his dad & I visited with his nurse & discussed discharge.  There was no real medical reason for him to stay (no more fever, and doctors were confident of treatment plan), but CJ was so worried about pain management at home, that he really had a lot of anxiety & didn't want to leave.  We decided to wait a little while to see how CJ felt after his friends left.

We ended up needing to cut CJ's visit with his friends short.  His pain had gone up, and he was getting tired from all the activity.  At 3:30PM, he and I both went down for a nap.  We slept for an hour and a half!!

Around 5:00PM, we talked with the doctor and made the decision to stay another night for CJ's peace of mind and to make sure the pain management is well-controlled with only the oral medications we would have at home.  If all goes well, we will be discharged in the morning.

At 6:00PM, CJ at  2 slices of personal pizza and some tater tots.  Less than an hour later, he was nauseous.  We called for anti-nausea medicine.  In my opinion, the drawer that holds the anti-nausea medicine in a hospital should never be allowed to run out...telling a kid who's feeling nauseous that they have to wait for the pharmacy to send up more is just mean!  Thankfully, CJ was able to make it, and we didn't have any issues like last night.  An hour after requesting it, CJ finally got his Zofran!

At 10:00PM, CJ's pain level was an 8, so he got some oxycodone.  An hour later, it was still an 8, so he got some Motrin.  The pain was especially bad on the left side near the incision.  When I looked at it, I noticed some swelling near the sight; puss may be building again.  Ten minutes later, a writhing CJ said the pain was up to a 10 and told me to "get the pain out."

By midnight, CJ was feeling a very little relief.  His nurse offered Tylenol.  The pain level was still at 8, but at least it seemed to be getting a little better.

It's now 12:30AM, and CJ finally seems to be feeling better.  We're hoping he gets complete relief and we can have a good night.  Prayers appreciated and requested!