Sunday, September 23, 2007

Day by Day

This week was my turn to go to church while Tim stayed home with Ethan. It is always so nice to go and mingle with ward members and to be reminded why we are here. It definitely helps me decompress from the stresses of the week.

Not much is new with Ethan. We are still just doing the recovery thing. There are times when he seems happy and normal, and then there are times when he is still very fussy and needy. Last night he had a screaming fit which lasted at least 20 minutes, maybe even longer. I had tried everything to try and settle him down. I tried holding him, giving him his blanket and binkie, soft music, pain meds, feeding him, laying him in his bed, laying with him on my bed, walking him around the room. NOTHING would work. I was on the verge of tears and had to walk out of the room and let Tim take over. It can be so stressful and frustrating not knowing what he needs. I think he was feeling some of my anxiety at a certain point, because when Tim took over he was quiet in less than a minute. As grateful as I was to have him finally fall asleep, it makes me feel like somewhat of a failure as a mom.

Ethan has a follow up appointment on Wednesday with his cardiologist and the surgical nurse practitioners. I hope everything is doing well by their standards and maybe we can get off some of his medications. Med time is still dreadful.

I would like to mention that some good friends of ours, the Pearson's and the Homer's, are having some surgeries coming up. The Pearson's are sending their son Ian into surgery tomorrow. Ian was born the same day as Ethan and we were in the PICU together. His heart condition is different than Ethan's but he has since gone into heart failure and has been in the PICU for a couple of weeks now trying to get strong enough for his surgery. Also, the Homer's, who were also in the PICU with us, are going to be sending their son Alex for the Glenn surgery in about a week. He has the same condition Ethan has. Both Ian and Alex are on our "friends list" if you would like to get to know them better. Please keep them in your prayers. We know what the power of prayer can do, and I know that these are great families and would appreciate any prayers and support coming their way. These are very serious surgeries and very scary times as I can attest. I pray that all goes well for them and their families.

---Allison

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good Morning Allison - It's Mom

I just finished saying a prayer for Alex and Ian. I will continue to keep them both in my prayers, as well as their families and medical staff. I know prayer works!

I'm so sorry I'm not able to take Gavin today. It's really a good thing that he's not around me. I'm feeling worse than yesterday. I'm working on getting better as fast as I can.

I believe there are messages in the small details of our life, and that we can receive help and guidance from paying attention to them. Perhaps Ethan's response to Tim's care is simply validation that you need time for yourself. Please accept all the help you can get, so you can keep yourself healthy and stable. You are an amazing person and an incredible mom. Ethan is a lucky little boy to be in your family.

Mp said...

I don't know if you remember us at the picnic, but we wanted to let you know that there are brighter days ahead. I remember when we had to do the shift thing to church and try and protect our daughter from getting sick while she was recovering and it was the hardest thing to go through, just always remember you are stronger then you think you are and at those moments when you haven't had much sleep know that heavenly father knows your families struggles and watches over you and understands your pains. Things will get better!!!
If you need anything let us know.

Hugs,
Mike,Rebecca & Brinley Patton