Quick note from Cincinnati. We had a drama-free flight from Newark, NJ to Cincinnati yesterday, except for the massive amount of turbulence…you feel everything in those little planes (3 seats plus Trey’s gurney). The soothing bumping and altitude dropping (and me going “ah..is this normal?”) put Trey right to sleep. I was looking for a flight attendant for a drink! Alas, nobody but Trey, the 2 pilots, the 2 air medics and me. Drink? Cricket cricket. Nerves…rickety rickety
Trey was in surgery today for 6 hours. The surgeons removed part of one of his ribs (anatomy lesson to follow at a later date) to create a new airway for him. They said the surgery went as expected but won’t be able to give any sort of positive/definitive info for 3 weeks, when the area begins healing and they remove the stint.
Trey is heavily drugged for the pain. He opened his eyes long enough to look at me as if to say “what the &&^%$#@$ ?” I don’t blame him. This is all very surreal. He got a pretty high fever an hour after the surgery and is retaining water. His respiratory and heart rate are significantly above normal but no one will get concerned unless the situation lasts 24 hours…so we’ll see what’s what tomorrow night.
I was able to Skype with the kids tonight from the hospital room so they got a look at Trey and we all felt better being connected if only through a webcam and a laptop…gotta love technology.
Other than being sleep-deprived, food-deprived (brown gravy on EVERYTHING) and east coast-deprived, I’m well and keeping the faith that this is the beginning of the last leg of a very long journey. Trey still has a few other issues that need to be dealt with but nothing nearly as significant as this one.
Thought for the day – every day should be Mother’s Day! We just do what we have to do for those we love the most no matter what. I met a mom today who has a 13-month-old daughter (full-term, no issues) who was born with no ribs and a spine that’s missing the majority of its vertebrae. That means she can never be upright, breath normally or walk. The mom had come from working an 18 hour shift and we met in the waiting room while I was waiting for the OK to see Trey after his surgery. I told her my story first and she got very emotional for me. Then she told me hers and I felt sad and foolish. Despite all I’ve gone through, I’ll have 4 healthy kids eventually. She won’t.
No matter how bad our situation might seem, someone else’s is always worse. Be grateful for your time here; your connections; your blessings – live life in a way that honors the opportunity to simple be here. Do what you need to do, want to do and are compelled to do right now. Tomorrow is not guaranteed.
Thanks for the well wishes and calls. Will try and update in the next day or so.
By the way, I told that mom that the doctors are just men and women. They aren’t God and they aren’t in charge of the Master Plan. Keep the faith.
Love,
Tami