Steps in the Right Direction

Roller coasters. I've never liked them.

We've been on one today.

Our day started after a long, rough night.  The pain has been intense and Graysen has really suffered. It's been hard on her and hard on us.  She hasn't wanted to eat and could barely move without pain.  Breaths were shallow and slow.  Blood pressure up.  Fever.

It's that part of the roller coaster ride that scares me to death. The part I hate.  The reason I don't ride them.

Next, came the physical therapist. It was time for Graysen to sit up, stand up, and move to a wheelchair. He was great and gave perfect instructions for her to follow. He helped her, along with the nurses, and Graysen was such a trooper! She followed the instructions to the letter and she did great.  It was such a relief to see her conquer this first step towards recovery.  A big first step.  The part of the roller coaster that I like...the slow, steady part.

But the ride wasn't over and we hadn't hit the worst part yet.

In an attempt to get the pain under control after all the moving, Graysen's pain meds were increased.
That's always a tricky thing, and in this case, it ended up as one of those scary parts of the ride.

Graysen was kinda over-medicated at this point and the PA was very concerned.  She told us that her meds all needed to be reduced so that she could wake up more and breathe more easily.  She was very unhappy about Graysen's readings and current state. She would have to bear a little more pain in the interest of making steps in the right direction.

As the mom, that whole conversation was very upsetting.  I didn't want her to be in pain again, but I also didn't want her to be over-medicated.  I can't tell you how many times in the last 24 hours the thought has repeated in my head that we should have never done this, why did we do this, this is a huge mistake.  Another difficult and scary part of the ride.

So, Aunt Gina and Peyton took me to the cafeteria to get some lunch and a break.

When we came back, Graysen was doing so much better.  Tim had her awake, eating a sweet potato, and drinking water. He had talked about the pain and medication situation, and the need to start moving forward.

It was time to stand up and move again.  The PT came back and started the process all over again.  But, this time she had an audience.  Peyton, Colton, Hope, and Marlea were visiting and wanted to see Graysen stand up and move to the chair.

This is when the roller-coaster did that whole upside-side-down and loopity- loop thing!

Graysen sat up, stood up, and transferred to her wheelchair like a pro.  She did absolutely great!

Hope was a different story.  I was just telling Graysen that maybe Hope could braid her hair really cute when I heard Tim say, "Hopey, are you okay? Uh-oh. Okay, she's passing out. Come on guys let's lay her down".

Well, that created quite the excitement! They called a code over the intercom and then came an army of ER personnel.  It was an exciting half-hour of making sure Hope was awake and okay.

Sweet Graysen kept saying, "I'm sorry I can't help Hope.  I'm sorry I'm not helping.  I feel bad I'm not helping her".

Sweet thing. Always worried about everybody else.

Well, like most roller coasters the most exciting part is towards the end.

The room finally cleared.  Everything and everyone was fine.

Graysen had endured all the excitement.  She was still sitting in the wheelchair.  She had earned a promotion.



Time to leave the PICU and move to a regular room.

A huge step in the right direction.

See ya PICU!

"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of Christ Jesus for you."

1 Thessalonians 5:18

"He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might He increases strength.  Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young ones shall fall exhausted; but they who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with the wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."

Isaiah 40:29-31