Monday

Looks like we may be on the mend. It was another very, very long night last night.

On the bright side....Kaitlyn, Ryan, Mima Sue and Popo Jim made it in yesterday. It was SO SO great to see them!! Kaitlyn and Ryan are in LOVE with the Ronald McDonald House. The playroom is their favorite...full of all kinds of toys, puzzles and books. Looks like it is straight out of Pottery Barn Kids catalog.

This morning there were a few flurries in the sky. The kids RAN outside (Ryan still in his jammies, but with a jacket on....) to try and catch some snow. They tried to catch some flakes on their tongues, and then they found a pile of snow from the big storm a few weeks ago...and they threw snowballs at Popo and Mima. Everyone was having so much fun!

Now Anderson.....poor guy, he had a very hard night last night. We got the new medication for anti-nausea and A was still throwing up. It seemed to us to be a pain problem. The motrin is wearing off at 5 hours, we can't give it to him until 6 hours. So, in that 5th hour, he starts to puke. Then, on top of it, the poor kid gets too much med in a syringe, that if he sees a syringe now, he starts gagging...regardless if you have put anything in his mouth!!

Anyway, at midnight, we had Mima Sue come to our room. We were headed to the ER with Anderson. The nurse had said if you give Anderson the new med 2 times, and he is still throwing up, to come to the ER. So...off we were headed, he did this....Well, a nice couple we met here, who have Chiari kiddos, saw us on our way out. They suggested we call the neurosurgeon group so they would know we were on our way in. The resident called us back and basically said to come in if we were concerned, but they would not be able to do much more than an IV fluid. The resident suggested we wait until 6 AM when Dr. Frim's whole staff would be there ( I guess this guy is not on Dr. Frim's staff)...and then, they would be able to help us more. Plus, the resident gave us a few more "things" to try to help manage Anderson's pain. So, we thought we would try them until the morning when we could talk to one of Dr. Frim's NPs. Ummm....did not work out (the residents latest suggestions!)

We talked to Amanda, 1 of Dr. Frim's NP (who we love!) this morning. She was able to increase Anderson's motrin dosage, which helps us get from hour 5 to hour 6 w/o that horrible pain A was in earlier. Plus, she said we could mix as many meds in a few ounces of apple juice that we wanted (to help prevent Anderson seeing that "syringe" of med) So, more things to try. And....at 8 PM tonight...THEY SEEM TO BE WORKING!! Whew!!! Lets hope that we all get more sleep tonight. I think Charlie pulled an all nighter, and Anderson and I got about 3 hours of sleep. Kaitlyn got so tired of Anderson's screaming in the middle of the night, she asked if she could go sleep with Mima and Popo...which she did!

Kaitlyn, Ryan and I went to the children's hospital today. They have that huge playroom on the 1st floor that residents of the Ronald McDonald house can use (even siblings). HOW GREAT! We took a shuttle over there, which the kids LOVED!!! Then, we were able to play with a HUGE room of all new toys. Lets say they want to go back tmr. AND, the child life specialists told me I could take Kaitlyn up to the 5th floor so she could see the elephant with pink toes ;) Kaitlyn and Ryan loved all of it! They also liked to see where Anderson was last week.

Kaitlyn is such a sweet sweet little girl (yes, I am her Mom and a little bias, but she is!). Tonight Kaitlyn says, "Mommy, Daddy, I need to tell you something. Whenever I look at Anderson's bandage down the back of his head, it makes me feel bad for him". WOW! We told her thanks for sharing her feelings, and we feel the same way...but, what the doctor did to Anderson that gave him that bandage will make him feel better and it is exciting and we should think about how it will help Anderson. She said, "I know, but I still feel bad". Bless her heart.

Then....tonight, Daddy went out to pick up dinner (some nights at the RMH they have groups to come in and serve food, and then some nights they do not...tonight was an "off" night). When Char got back with dinner, Kaitlyn says "What did you bring me, my PRINCE?" Charlie was ALL smiles after that one!!!

Ryan is doing well too. He is READY to go. We have found him climbing the built in shelves in the playroom (sorry Ronald). He is full of energy and ready to play right now. I think he is happy we are back together! Not sure Ryan quite understands as much as Kaitlyn when it comes to Anderson. Ryan understands to be gentle, but that is about all he seems to "get" right now.

Mima Sue and Popo Jim left today. We were sad to see all of the grandparents come and go.....and BOY, what a weekend they all got to see. Hopefully, the next time Anderson will be full of new tricks and instead of puking when they see him next.

This past weekend felt like 10 steps backward. Anderson was sicker this past weekend than he had been at ANY point post-op in the hospital. But, we are hopeful again, now that we have his pain management under control.....at least right now!

I will try to post some pictures later.

Until...good night!