Evening Update – Dec. 8

Sorry for the late update, it was a pretty busy day. We did our first car transfer today. It was kinda odd with the quarantine protocol in place. Susan, Megan, the therapist, and myself all had to gown up in special gowns. Then a nurse had to escort us out of the building. She was the only one allowed to touch anything like the elevator call buttons. Then I went and got the car and pulled up to the pickup/dropoff. First the therapist helped Meg. It was slow and awkward while she worked out where she wanted to grab to get into the car. The number one rule is “don’t grab the door.” It seems like a good thing to grab, but it will move. That can result in a tumble, smashed fingers, or both. Once Meg got into the car she had to get out and that was also slow and awkward.

After that I helped Megan get in and out. Since she had done it before, it went a little better. She did reach toward the door once and her foot hurt so she just lifted it trusting me to catch/hold her. That was scary. Otherwise it was a little faster and she seemed more natural.

We’ll be doing it again tomorrow and maybe Friday.

Yesterday the dressing change was much worse than Monday. I had an idea to have Megan lay on her stomach. This would angle her leg better so we wouldn’t have to handle it as much. I thought that would make it less painful, but somehow it triggered big pain that dominated the rest of the experience and lasted till she finally went to sleep.

Today went much better. They brought this flexible vibrating snake and Meg had it wrapped around her neck. She got good and comfortable while we set up. We also had her stay on her back again. It means handling her leg more, but she tolerated that better than the change last night. There were times where she was in pain, but overall it went significantly better than other recent changes.

I also had a couple meetings and conversations with doctors and therapists. We are still planning on discharging at the end of the week. Meg’s stool is firming up and less frequent, but they are looking for slightly more solid still. It’s a bit frustrating because I would like to know for sure one way or the other now. I understand the quarantine protocol is to protect the other patients and I support that. I’m just ready for Megan to get the help she needs or go home.

They did a fun activity with her for therapeutic recreation. The child life team organized a game with another teen girl using iPads so they could do it virtually. This was a really nice touch since Megan had made friends with this other girl during other activities so it was frustrating she couldn’t see her new friend in addition to not seeing all of her old friends.

Prayer Needs:

• Gut health
• Her toes
• General recovery

Talitha cumi, you can get in the car, so we are one step closer to home.