Yesterday was a pretty good day. Girl Child was awake for decent stretches and able to visit with some friends and talk on the phone to others. On the way back to the hospital, I’d picked up a gift from one friend who couldn’t make it to visit, and it included a blanket and stuffed puppy that spent most of the day and night in her bed with her. GI issues were still a problem, but they’re just going to be a problem until after the final surgery when she can get off some of the meds she’s currently on. DH went home to prepare some things for his parents staying a night or two with Boy Child just in case the snow storm cancels school.
At some point a nurse brought in the surgery consent form, and I noticed on there that for the first time, the current plan reads T4-L3 with L4 only if necessary, where everything previously was part of the original T4-L4 plan. I took that as a hopeful sign that Dr. C. felt it might be a realistic option. He called later to check in on Girl Child, and I thanked him for the reworked consent. I told him we knew he couldn’t promise anything, but we really appreciate that we can trust him to do what’s best for her. He told me his approach is always to ask “What would I do if this were my daughter?” I’m trying not to get my hopes up too much, but I do trust that if he can possibly save her L4 level, he will.
My cousin B. and Uncle D. brought DH back to the hospital in the evening, and we visited for quite awhile. B. and I got some dinner, and it was nice to get out of the room for a bit. DH called down to me as I was finishing up and said that Boy Child is really missing me and I should call home and talk to him. It dawned on me that he has only seen me twice since last Monday: briefly getting ready for the school bus Wednesday morning, and briefly at the hospital Thursday. I called home and we talked. He was in tears, and it broke my heart. I promised him if the weather held up, I’d be home Monday evening/night and that we could snuggle up together. I also told him we’d be sure to call and let him know when Girl Child is out of surgery. As an aside, when I asked him to tell me things he wanted to talk about, he said he wanted an X-Box, and there’s a part of me that would love to get him one; he’s going through a lot himself in the midst of all this.
The night was fairly uneventful. DH took the first sleep shift on the couch in the room while I watched over Girl Child. Our night nurse K. (not the same that we’d had before, but we’d met her working with the previous K.) was very sweet. DH and I eventually switched out, and I curled up on the couch. I dreamed that Dr. C. was talking to his doppleganger in the OR about whether or not he could maybe stop at L2 or if he’d need to go to L3. Pretty obvious what’s on my mind right now…
