Day Five

They closed his chest in the morning before I came in and he was pretty swollen. He was also having more spasms in his chest area, which they still weren't too concerned about. On top of that he got hiccups which he got pretty sad about. I can't imagine having hiccups after heart surgery. He was on quite a bit of pain medication and sedatives, so it could have been worse. Their goal for him for the whole day was just to rest and be comfortable, so there wasn't a lot happening today, except for his chest being closed. He was still awake a lot, but he seemed to be relatively comfortable and not so upset when he was awake.

The boys came with Art. Jude cried almost as soon as they came in, it was so sad. I wasn't sure if it was because of all of the mess of chords, bandages, tubes, etc,  if it was because I told him he was so silly (not meant negatively), if it was a combination, or just because he was so overwhelmed. I went out to the bathroom with him and sat in the shower(that is so gross now that I think about it) with him while we both cried and hugged each other. Both of the boys are such troopers through all of this. As soon as we felt better we went back, but he started crying again, so we got Hyrum and went to go get slushies and eat bananas in the nutrition room, a room in the PICU/CICU where there are snacks and drinks for patients and their families. It was so good to see the boys and really just be with them, we missed each other a lot.

We all decided to go up to this amazing play room on the third floor with every imaginable toy. Dolls and dinosaurs, books and cars, play kitchen and laundry room, etc, etc. I think the boys could play in there all day without getting bored. We had so much fun just being together and playing, without any immediate distractions. Another reason I am so grateful for the amazing hospital.

Kind of gross to have masks at a hospital but there were plenty of wipes and hand sanitizer around.

After we played we went back downstairs and got dinner in the cafeteria. The food isn't bad and there isn't a meal more than $5. Inexpensive, but it definitely ads up if you are eating there 3 times a day. It was a novel thing for the boys, they loved helping with the trays, napkins, and plastic ware dispensers.

Art had the next day off, so he suggested that I go home with the boys and he stay. I was kind of shocked, but knew immediately that that was what should happen. I also immediately got so sad. How could I leave Esa? The boys needed me, though and Art wouldn't have many chances to stay and visit with Esa, so we decided I would go. I was a crying mess, but the boys couldn't tell because I was facing forward in the car. It was absolutely the right thing to do, the boys were so happy and we were able to talk about our time away from each other on the way home. They both fell asleep long before we hit Provo, so I just put them in bed, pumped, and went to bed.