Girl Child had a few visitors while we were waiting for the transfer to the regular room. She wasn’t terribly awake for either the visit from our friend T. or from her paternal grandparents, but she enjoyed seeing them all. Thankfully we didn’t wait too long for the regular room, and Nurse S. and another nurse were soon getting Girl Child’s cords and oxygen packed up for transfer. We didn’t have to go very far, just down the hall, really, on the west side of the floor. Once there, a new nurse gave us the tour of the room and unit, checked Girl Child’s orders and vitals, and left us to settle in. Not long after we got there, my stepmom came to visit. Girl Child slept through quite a lot of it, but again was happy to see a familiar face.
It’s amazing how much quieter the regular room is. In ICU, the vitals monitor beeps for every heartbeat, and the tone of the beep changes depending on the oxygen level of the blood with higher pitches indicating higher oxygen levels. What’s more, alarms sound on your monitor for other patients so nurses see them no matter where they are, so it’s a constant flood of beeping and alarm bells.
The regular room is almost silent, save for the bubbling of the machine that drains her incision, and it’s actually sort of soothing. And because the nurses don’t have to come in as often, Girl Child has actually been able to get some decent stretches of sleep, for which we’re both very glad. She did have another hiccup with muscle spasms, and rolling her every two hours doesn’t feel good, but the nurse has been very prompt with meds for her when she needed something beyond the pain pump. She also brought in a lamp that projects a galaxy with moving green laser stars or fireflies on the ceiling, which has been kind of mesmerizing.
Girl Child’s school nurse just happened to be visiting someone else and poked her head in to see how she was doing. Then late in the afternoon, her math and science teacher came bringing handmade cards and gifts her classmates sent her. I can’t tell you how phenomenal everyone at her school has been; it’s been a tremendous weight off our shoulders to know how much thought and effort they’re putting into making sure she gets what she needs academically in the time she’ll be out of school and when she returns. And that’s not even mentioning just the basic kindness and concern they’ve shown.
Originally DH was to relieve me this evening and bring Boy Child to visit his sister. We already knew Boy Child was at the tail end of a cold, so he would not likely be allowed to visit. Unfortunately, DH woke up from his sleep shift with the same cold. We decided it would be best if I stayed on to avoid him bringing the germs with him; a cold is pretty much the last thing Girl Child needs right now. This evening brought a visit from my sister M. and cousin S., and I even went on a very short walk with M. between pain pump times. Girl Child talked on the phone with one of her friends as well as her brother, and is currently sleeping courtesy of a dose of valium. I should probably sleep myself since I know she’ll be good for awhile.
