Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Jettwatch: Day 2

Although we have a room at the Ronald McDonald house here at the hospital, last night we slept in Jett's room in the ICU. Around midnight, Jett woke up and several times during the next few hours, lifted his arms against the weights holding them down and ripped out whatever tubes attached to him that he could.

His color looks normal. There doesn't seem to be any swelling in his face or body. Even his incision looks better. They are taking him off of the "sleepy medicine" and have promised us that it's going to be a very "fun" day. So far he's opened his eyes and looked around, not sure if he recognized us or even saw anything, but at least his eyes were open.

The doctors just made their rounds, and among other things have decided that later today, he'll be ready to eat. We have a spongy applicator that we will be dipping in breast milk to feed him.

He's as strong as an ox right now and very frustrated that he's stuck in the bed. Plus, he's teething. I'm amazed at how much strength he has for having open heart surgery only 24 hours ago.

More to come...

3:00 p.m. Jett just woke up after sleeping for about an hour. Before that, he was awake since about 7:30 this morning. I "may" have "accidentally" taken about a two hour nap. He's eaten very well, skipping the sponge applicator and going straight to the bottle.

Okay, after about 5 minutes of fussing, and a satisfied "toot" Jett is back to sleep. He doesn't have the oxygen tube in his nose any more, and the doctor told us more tubes will be removed soon.

4:00 p.m. Jett awoke fussier than usual. His face and eyes were red. After some quick deduction, we determined that the hospital blankets, specifically the detergent used on them, was irritating his skin. I am now at the Ronald McDonald House laundering his blankets and clothes with the Seventh Generation detergent we brought with us.

So while I'm waiting during the spin cycle, how about a tour?
I actually worked at McDonald's for six years and I never knew exactly what the Ronald McDonald House was. I have to say, I'm pleasantly surprised.

The "house" is located inside the hospital. In our case, it's in a separate building from Jett's hospital room, but only about a five minute walk away.

The inside of the house boasts a family room, play area, media center (seen above) and a fully stocked kitchen with all kinds of complimentary food.

These areas are so clean and spacious. The folks at the RMH really strive to make to feel comfortable and taken care of. The bedroom is actually quite small, with a bed, dresser, wardrobe and bathroom with shower. Well, time to put the clothes in the dryer. Stay tuned!

8:00 p.m. After a long period of Jett being awake, arms flailing and legs kicking the entire time, he's finally asleep again.


We had to put a sock on his hand because he kept trying to take all of his tubes and lines out.
When he wakes up again, we'll be able to change out his linens.

We finally had a chance to eat, and got some Kung Pao chicken from the cafeteria. I reserved the fortune from the fortune cookie for Jett. Here's what he got:

Just watch this kid folks, it WILL happen.

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Location:5th St S,St Petersburg,United States

2 comments:

Jeffrey Carrier said...

well see...prayers DO work...and just for the record, Dude...you're handling this WAY better than I would...I'm a wreck when my chitlins get a cold--way to go--!

Red from Ktown said...

This was great! Cool to see the house too. I never would've thought it was in the hospital itself. (I'm trying to catch up on all of your Jett posts!)