Recovering After Surgery
Hi guys,

The bad news is we definitely won't be coming home this weekend.

The good news is that Alena is still recovering nicely.

Yesterday (that would be Wednesday), we went to visit, and when she was awake, Alena mostly would cry out and complain that her head hurt. (I guess. I think mine would, too.) She has a fever still. Anyway, she does have strength in her left side, which is great. However, she may have awareness issues. I mean, she may not be totally aware of her left side or her ability to control it, which will mean retraining her brain to recognize her left limbs again, which (the docs assure me) won't take long. That's where things stood yesterday, and we spent most of the day in ICU, and Alena spent a lot of that in fitful sleep.

Today was much, much better. Again, we spent most of it in ICU (IICU, intermediate now), and now that's where she is. They've closed her drain and are watching it. to be sure that it will be OK to remove. Her sleep today has been restful, she's starting to get an appetite (even ate two cookies this evening), And the best news is, when we came in this evening to see her, we got an Alena greeting and an Alena smile. And she squeezed our hands and raised her arms, on her own, with her left hand, the one that might be problematic. Doesn't look like it will be! She asked to see Chet (the four-legged). She's definitely well on her way to recovery. I think we'll be in a room and out of iCU tomorrow.

Now, please indulge me a minute, because I'm going to tell you a story that doesn' have Alena in it. Well, not really it doesn't.

I've always found it interesting that other people's problems are generally worse than yours, and, to them, their challenges are peanuts compared to the crushing burdens you yourself must bear.

The floor where parents who have kids in ICU live has only one shower on it. This means you have to wait your turn, and you had better take it when it comes, or you'll be waiting a while. This is what I was doing when a woman walked up to me and asked, "Is there someone in there now?"

When I told her there was, she walked off down the hall about 20 or 30 feet and made a phone call on her mobile phone. Well, I'm a nosy SOB, and I couldn't help but overhear her story. Of course, I didn't get it all, but I got enough to understand that she was in some real distress over her child, who would be here at CHP for quite a while. And it struck me that, as I said before, the burden she bore was much heavier than mine. So I resolved that, if I could help and at least lend an ear (we all can use one of those sometimes), I would.

So, when she finished her phone call, I walked up to her and asked if she was all right. She said that, yes, she was fine. I'm nothing if not direct, and I'm also nothing if not compassionate. So I knelt down beside her, put an arm around her shoulders, and said, "No, you're not all right. What's going on with your kid?"

Well, something like that, anyway. Maybe it's a wonder I didn't get slugged, but I didn't. So, we chatted and swapped stories. We both agreed that the other's situation was much worse than ou own. But anyway, her daughter was just a day old, and she was fine, mostly; she was breathing on her own, her heart was beating, she was alive, but her bowels were on the outside of her body. And she would be in hospital for about a month. Carla (the mom) had five other kids and was here from Altoona, a couple hours' drive from here. She was here because, a few weeks ago, the doctors discovered something was wrong, and in spite of their hopes that the doctors were wrong...well...something was wrong after all.

So here's Carla, away from her other kids, with a very sick newborn, while the doctors, with the best of intentions, tell her that her baby doesn't know she's even there, her baby would want for nothing, and her baby was in the best of care. Mostly true, but I'm not so sure I believe a baby doesn't know its mother's nearby...the human mind and body are pretty amazing, and we can't pretend to completely understand it. I'm sure she's torn between her new daughter and her duties to the rest of the family. I can't pretend to understand, but I know that right now the weight must be pretty heavy on her heart.

So, when you're saying a prayer for Alena, please say another one for little Abigail Smith and the doctors that are working on her. And for her mother Carla, for her peace of mind, at least. I'm sure she would appreciate it.