Re: Sir Jonas returns home from hospital

[Guest guest]

Happy to hear theat everything went well. I think the reasin why the MD didn't

give Jonas narcotics to go home with , is due to the fact that children recover

better than adults. Most adults would not be running down the hall 4 days

post-op. It is frustrating, though, to see your little one being in pain.

However, it does pose as a reminder, too, not to do too much so that his wounds

can heal properly. Keep up the good work with the tylenol/motrin!

Irene, mom to Nat 10 MDS, Luke 8, Emilia 5, Lillian 3, and Isaac 6mo, married to

Mike 12yrs

Martz wrote:

Dear Friends,

Thank you for all of your prayers and words of encouragement! Jonas was in

Children's Hospital Pittsburgh for repair of an ASD (hole in his heart) as well

as repair of the mitral valve from 7/1- 7/5. Just 4 days and he is home already!

He is doing very well. I am sleep deprived after staying with him the entire

time at the hospital and having to be a nurse to him for so many things. He

would not take any oral meds for the nurses, so Mom had to awaken in the middle

of the night to play, " Let's take the nice medication like a big boy " with him

every time he was due for meds. He got his shoes on after being unhooked from

the very last IV or tube yesterday, and he ran as fast as his legs would go, out

the door of the room, down the hall and Bob had to really run to catch him!

Since arriving home, he has been stopped from standing on the arm of the sofa to

reach something he should not have anyway, and from jumping on the bed. He has

learned some lessons for himself about things that he

can not do because they just hurt. Keeping him from being too " busy " will be my

biggest challenge for a week here. He does tire out after awhile and takes nice

naps, but his surgeon had him on Tylenol only one day after the surgery, so he

has no medications that really work super well at keeping him comfortable or

relaxed in any way. I did not agree with the doctor on that when I could clearly

see that he was very uncomfortable and irritated by pain and he finally relented

and said he could have Motrin alternating with Tylenol. As long as we keep on

top of giving it to him on time, it is pretty good. When he naps through a dose

or sleeps through a dose, he starts to get agitated. I personally do not think

it would be asking too much to give Jonas something for a couple of days that

would actually make him feel better, but far be it for me who only spends EVERY

DAY getting to know how to read how he is feeling! I do not know if this surgeon

is an island unto himself, or if no surgeon

gives decent pain relief for!

childre

n because they can't complain. It just amazes me that they keep adults on

Morphine for days, then send them home with a strong pain medication, and

children are knocked down to children's Tylenol after one day in the Critical

ICU! It sure gives me a big pain in the heart to see either of my children in

any kind of pain! I can stand to be in pain myself much more easily than I can

bear to see a child of mine in pain.

One little sweet story and then I am off for now... When Jonas was in the ICU,

he had his arms all wrapped up in splints with a velcro covering to keep him

restrained from pulling things out of himself. He was beginning to wake up and

was in pain and agitated. He kept picking up his right arm and putting his thumb

out like a hitchhiker and opening his mouth. His nurse did not immediately get

what that was about until I told her that sucking his thumb is his way of

consoling himself. She took pity on him and took his right arm out of restraints

several times so he could suck his thumb and have his freshly washed " blankie "

from home. His doggie " scooter " received his own arm band in case he got lost

and needed returned to Jonas. He was able to keep the cats away from Jonas very

well during his short hospital stay. Ha Ha...

Blessings,

Barb Martz

Mom to Jonas 3 (MDS) & 9

<><

[Guest guest]

Barb,

I am so glad Jonas is home and seems to be recovering VERY well. I know you

will never forget this experience but maybe you can find some comfort in the

fact Jonas probably will. I will never forget the ambulance ride to the

hospital because was in respirtory distress but he has no recollection of

the event (he was 2) and now loves to climb in and out of the ambulance and fire

trucks during the stations annual open house!

Maureen, mother to Tyler, 10 and , 6 (MDS)

Sir Jonas returns home from hospital

Dear Friends,

Thank you for all of your prayers and words of encouragement! Jonas was

in Children's Hospital Pittsburgh for repair of an ASD (hole in his heart) as

well as repair of the mitral valve from 7/1- 7/5. Just 4 days and he is home

already! He is doing very well. I am sleep deprived after staying with him the

entire time at the hospital and having to be a nurse to him for so many things.

He would not take any oral meds for the nurses, so Mom had to awaken in the

middle of the night to play, " Let's take the nice medication like a big boy "

with him every time he was due for meds. He got his shoes on after being

unhooked from the very last IV or tube yesterday, and he ran as fast as his legs

would go, out the door of the room, down the hall and Bob had to really run to

catch him! Since arriving home, he has been stopped from standing on the arm of

the sofa to reach something he should not have anyway, and from jumping on the

bed. He has learned some lessons for himself about things that he can not do

because they just hurt. Keeping him from being too " busy " will be my biggest

challenge for a week here. He does tire out after awhile and takes nice naps,

but his surgeon had him on Tylenol only one day after the surgery, so he has no

medications that really work super well at keeping him comfortable or relaxed in

any way. I did not agree with the doctor on that when I could clearly see that

he was very uncomfortable and irritated by pain and he finally relented and said

he could have Motrin alternating with Tylenol. As long as we keep on top of

giving it to him on time, it is pretty good. When he naps through a dose or

sleeps through a dose, he starts to get agitated. I personally do not think it

would be asking too much to give Jonas something for a couple of days that would

actually make him feel better, but far be it for me who only spends EVERY DAY

getting to know how to read how he is feeling! I do not know if this surgeon is

an island unto himself, or if no surgeon gives decent pain relief for children

because they can't complain. It just amazes me that they keep adults on

Morphine for days, then send them home with a strong pain medication, and

children are knocked down to children's Tylenol after one day in the Critical

ICU! It sure gives me a big pain in the heart to see either of my children in

any kind of pain! I can stand to be in pain myself much more easily than I can

bear to see a child of mine in pain.

One little sweet story and then I am off for now... When Jonas was in

the ICU, he had his arms all wrapped up in splints with a velcro covering to

keep him restrained from pulling things out of himself. He was beginning to

wake up and was in pain and agitated. He kept picking up his right arm and

putting his thumb out like a hitchhiker and opening his mouth. His nurse did

not immediately get what that was about until I told her that sucking his thumb

is his way of consoling himself. She took pity on him and took his right arm

out of restraints several times so he could suck his thumb and have his freshly

washed " blankie " from home. His doggie " scooter " received his own arm band in

case he got lost and needed returned to Jonas. He was able to keep the cats

away from Jonas very well during his short hospital stay. Ha Ha...

Blessings,

Barb Martz

Mom to Jonas 3 (MDS) & 9

<><

[Guest guest]

I am so happy to hear that Jonas' surgery went well and he is back at home.

I hope he is feeling better real soon. Donna - gram to Adam 23 months

-- Sir Jonas returns home from hospital

Dear Friends,

Thank you for all of your prayers and words of encouragement! Jonas was

in Children's Hospital Pittsburgh for repair of an ASD (hole in his heart)

as well as repair of the mitral valve from 7/1- 7/5. Just 4 days and he is

home already! He is doing very well. I am sleep deprived after staying

with him the entire time at the hospital and having to be a nurse to him for

so many things. He would not take any oral meds for the nurses, so Mom had

to awaken in the middle of the night to play, " Let's take the nice

medication like a big boy " with him every time he was due for meds. He got

his shoes on after being unhooked from the very last IV or tube yesterday,

and he ran as fast as his legs would go, out the door of the room, down the

hall and Bob had to really run to catch him! Since arriving home, he has

been stopped from standing on the arm of the sofa to reach something he

should not have anyway, and from jumping on the bed. He has learned some

lessons for himself about things that he can not do because they just hurt.

Keeping him from being too " busy " will be my biggest challenge for a week

here. He does tire out after awhile and takes nice naps, but his surgeon

had him on Tylenol only one day after the surgery, so he has no medications

that really work super well at keeping him comfortable or relaxed in any way

I did not agree with the doctor on that when I could clearly see that he

was very uncomfortable and irritated by pain and he finally relented and

said he could have Motrin alternating with Tylenol. As long as we keep on

top of giving it to him on time, it is pretty good. When he naps through a

dose or sleeps through a dose, he starts to get agitated. I personally do

not think it would be asking too much to give Jonas something for a couple

of days that would actually make him feel better, but far be it for me who

only spends EVERY DAY getting to know how to read how he is feeling! I do

not know if this surgeon is an island unto himself, or if no surgeon gives

decent pain relief for!

childre

n because they can't complain. It just amazes me that they keep adults on

Morphine for days, then send them home with a strong pain medication, and

children are knocked down to children's Tylenol after one day in the

Critical ICU! It sure gives me a big pain in the heart to see either of my

children in any kind of pain! I can stand to be in pain myself much more

easily than I can bear to see a child of mine in pain.

One little sweet story and then I am off for now... When Jonas was in

the ICU, he had his arms all wrapped up in splints with a velcro covering to

keep him restrained from pulling things out of himself. He was beginning to

wake up and was in pain and agitated. He kept picking up his right arm and

putting his thumb out like a hitchhiker and opening his mouth. His nurse

did not immediately get what that was about until I told her that sucking

his thumb is his way of consoling himself. She took pity on him and took

his right arm out of restraints several times so he could suck his thumb and

have his freshly washed " blankie " from home. His doggie " scooter " received

his own arm band in case he got lost and needed returned to Jonas. He was

able to keep the cats away from Jonas very well during his short hospital

stay. Ha Ha...

Blessings,

Barb Martz

Mom to Jonas 3 (MDS) & 9

<><

[Guest guest]

Barb,

I am so glad to hear that everything went so well and that he is already home!

Had you planned a longer stay than this? I thought that recovery would take

longer.

Aidan, my little grandson, is scheduled for open heart surgery on July 20th. I

plan to stay with him during his hospital stay. (The doctors and nurses tend to

listen better to me than my daughter-in-law). I think they are planning to stay

at least a couple of weeks, although Aidan's medical problems outweigh most

everyone elses.

Get some rest and give Jonas a big hug from me!

Kristy

Martz wrote:

Dear Friends,

Thank you for all of your prayers and words of encouragement! Jonas was in

Children's Hospital Pittsburgh for repair of an ASD (hole in his heart) as well

as repair of the mitral valve from 7/1- 7/5. Just 4 days and he is home

already! He is doing very well. I am sleep deprived after staying with him the

entire time at the hospital and having to be a nurse to him for so many things.

He would not take any oral meds for the nurses, so Mom had to awaken in the

middle of the night to play, " Let's take the nice medication like a big boy "

with him every time he was due for meds. He got his shoes on after being

unhooked from the very last IV or tube yesterday, and he ran as fast as his legs

would go, out the door of the room, down the hall and Bob had to really run to

catch him! Since arriving home, he has been stopped from standing on the arm of

the sofa to reach something he should not have anyway, and from jumping on the

bed. He has learned some lessons for himself about

things that he can not do because they just hurt. Keeping him from being too

" busy " will be my biggest challenge for a week here. He does tire out after

awhile and takes nice naps, but his surgeon had him on Tylenol only one day

after the surgery, so he has no medications that really work super well at

keeping him comfortable or relaxed in any way. I did not agree with the doctor

on that when I could clearly see that he was very uncomfortable and irritated by

pain and he finally relented and said he could have Motrin alternating with

Tylenol. As long as we keep on top of giving it to him on time, it is pretty

good. When he naps through a dose or sleeps through a dose, he starts to get

agitated. I personally do not think it would be asking too much to give Jonas

something for a couple of days that would actually make him feel better, but far

be it for me who only spends EVERY DAY getting to know how to read how he is

feeling! I do not know if this surgeon is an island unto

himself, or if no surgeon gives decent pain relief for children because they

can't complain. It just amazes me that they keep adults on Morphine for days,

then send them home with a strong pain medication, and children are knocked down

to children's Tylenol after one day in the Critical ICU! It sure gives me a big

pain in the heart to see either of my children in any kind of pain! I can stand

to be in pain myself much more easily than I can bear to see a child of mine in

pain.

One little sweet story and then I am off for now... When Jonas was in the

ICU, he had his arms all wrapped up in splints with a velcro covering to keep

him restrained from pulling things out of himself. He was beginning to wake up

and was in pain and agitated. He kept picking up his right arm and putting his

thumb out like a hitchhiker and opening his mouth. His nurse did not

immediately get what that was about until I told her that sucking his thumb is

his way of consoling himself. She took pity on him and took his right arm out

of restraints several times so he could suck his thumb and have his freshly

washed " blankie " from home. His doggie " scooter " received his own arm band in

case he got lost and needed returned to Jonas. He was able to keep the cats

away from Jonas very well during his short hospital stay. Ha Ha...

Blessings,

Barb Martz

Mom to Jonas 3 (MDS) & 9

<><

[Guest guest]

Barb,

I am so happy that Jonas is done with his surgery and both of you are in the

comforts of your home!! I love the thumb sucking story because my little Ella

is a thumb sucker too and she would probably be in more pain without being able

to suck her thumb. Once again I am so happy that the surgery went well. Thanks

for updating us all so quickly.

- Mom to Ella (3) and Caden 1-MDS

Sir Jonas returns home from hospital

Dear Friends,

Thank you for all of your prayers and words of encouragement! Jonas was

in Children's Hospital Pittsburgh for repair of an ASD (hole in his heart) as

well as repair of the mitral valve from 7/1- 7/5. Just 4 days and he is home

already! He is doing very well. I am sleep deprived after staying with him the

entire time at the hospital and having to be a nurse to him for so many things.

He would not take any oral meds for the nurses, so Mom had to awaken in the

middle of the night to play, " Let's take the nice medication like a big boy "

with him every time he was due for meds. He got his shoes on after being

unhooked from the very last IV or tube yesterday, and he ran as fast as his legs

would go, out the door of the room, down the hall and Bob had to really run to

catch him! Since arriving home, he has been stopped from standing on the arm of

the sofa to reach something he should not have anyway, and from jumping ! on the

bed. He has learned some lessons for himself about things that he can not do

because they just hurt. Keeping him from being too " busy " will be my biggest

challenge for a week here. He does tire out after awhile and takes nice naps,

but his surgeon had him on Tylenol only one day after the surgery, so he has no

medications that really work super well at keeping him comfortable or relaxed in

any way. I did not agree with the doctor on that when I could clearly see that

he was very uncomfortable and irritated by pain and he finally relented and said

he could have Motrin alternating with Tylenol. As long as we keep on top of

giving it to him on time, it is pretty good. When he naps through a dose or

sleeps through a dose, he starts to get agitated. I personally do not think it

would be asking too much to give Jonas something for a couple of days that would

actually make him feel better, but far be it for me who only spends EVERY DA! Y

getting to know how to read how he is feeling! I do not know i f this surgeon

is an island unto himself, or if no surgeon gives decent pain relief for

children because they can't complain. It just amazes me that they keep adults

on Morphine for days, then send them home with a strong pain medication, and

children are knocked down to children's Tylenol after one day in the Critical

ICU! It sure gives me a big pain in the heart to see either of my children in

any kind of pain! I can stand to be in pain myself much more easily than I can

bear to see a child of mine in pain.

One little sweet story and then I am off for now... When Jonas was in the

ICU, he had his arms all wrapped up in splints with a velcro covering to keep

him restrained from pulling things out of himself. He was beginning to wake up

and was in pain and agitated. He kept picking up his right arm and putting his

thumb out like a hitchhiker and opening his mouth. His nurse did not

immediately get what that was about until I told her that sucking his thumb is

his way of consoling himself. She took pity on him and took his right arm out

of restraints several times so he could suck his thumb and have his freshly

washed " blankie " from home. His doggie " scooter " received his own arm band in

case he got lost and needed returned to Jonas. He was able to keep the cats

away from Jonas very well during his short hospital stay. Ha Ha...

Blessings,

Barb Martz

Mom to Jonas 3 (MDS) & 9

<><

[Guest guest]

Hi Barb..I am so glad to hear that Jonas is home and doing so well!!!! I

agree with your assessment of this pain medication ... or lack of medication I

should say. He should have something stronger to help him through the recovery!

You are a wonderful mother and Sir Jonas is a lucky boy!!! Lots of Love from

the Ross Family... & Ken and 7, almost 3 MDS, and Kirk 1

[Guest guest]

Kristy,

I will be lifting Aidan up in prayer for his surgery on the 20th as well as

you and your family. Of course I expected, and was told he would have a longer

hospital stay. They were actually going to send him home after only 3 days, but

some drainage from his chest tube as well as the stricken look on my face

contributed to his getting to stay 4 whole days. They had originally told us he

would be in the hospital for 6 days give or take a day.

We have already been back to the hospital with him because he became

listless, much more pale, whining/sighing in pain constantly, and had a high

fever. He had many tests, X-ray, Echocardiogram etc., and saw the surgeon and

then had more tests and saw him again. In the final analysis, they determined

that his heart and everything about the surgery is still fine. He brought a

virus home from the hospital with him and was achy from head to toe from that.

He was down and out for several days and just today seems to be over the virus.

It was scary to go through wondering what was up with him, and the doctor

thought all the same things I did... fluid around his heart, infection, etc.

Today, he is messing up the house at an alarming rate, and getting into things

he should not, so I am not worried any longer about that virus. It IS nerve

wracking to bring them home so soon. I am not a doctor, or a nurse, and I worry

about all the little things that could go wrong, but his doctor or the

physician's assistant have called every single day since he came home to check

on him, so it is not as if they have forgotten him. He will see the doctor in

follow up next week on Wednesday 7/14.

Take care!

Blessings,

Barb Martz

Mom to Jonas (MDS) 3 & 9

<><

Re: Sir Jonas returns home from hospital

Barb,

I am so glad to hear that everything went so well and that he is already home!

Had you planned a longer stay than this? I thought that recovery would take

longer.

Aidan, my little grandson, is scheduled for open heart surgery on July 20th. I

plan to stay with him during his hospital stay. (The doctors and nurses tend to

listen better to me than my daughter-in-law). I think they are planning to stay

at least a couple of weeks, although Aidan's medical problems outweigh most

everyone elses.

Get some rest and give Jonas a big hug from me!

Kristy

Martz wrote:

Dear Friends,

Thank you for all of your prayers and words of encouragement! Jonas was

in Children's Hospital Pittsburgh for repair of an ASD (hole in his heart) as

well as repair of the mitral valve from 7/1- 7/5. Just 4 days and he is home

already! He is doing very well. I am sleep deprived after staying with him the

entire time at the hospital and having to be a nurse to him for so many things.

He would not take any oral meds for the nurses, so Mom had to awaken in the

middle of the night to play, " Let's take the nice medication like a big boy "

with him every time he was due for meds. He got his shoes on after being

unhooked from the very last IV or tube yesterday, and he ran as fast as his legs

would go, out the door of the room, down the hall and Bob had to really run to

catch him! Since arriving home, he has been stopped from standing on the arm of

the sofa to reach something he should not have anyway, and from jumping on the

bed. He has learned some lessons for himself about

things that he can not do because they just hurt. Keeping him from being too

" busy " will be my biggest challenge for a week here. He does tire out after

awhile and takes nice naps, but his surgeon had him on Tylenol only one day

after the surgery, so he has no medications that really work super well at

keeping him comfortable or relaxed in any way. I did not agree with the doctor

on that when I could clearly see that he was very uncomfortable and irritated by

pain and he finally relented and said he could have Motrin alternating with

Tylenol. As long as we keep on top of giving it to him on time, it is pretty

good. When he naps through a dose or sleeps through a dose, he starts to get

agitated. I personally do not think it would be asking too much to give Jonas

something for a couple of days that would actually make him feel better, but far

be it for me who only spends EVERY DAY getting to know how to read how he is

feeling! I do not know if this surgeon is an island unto

himself, or if no surgeon gives decent pain relief for children because they

can't complain. It just amazes me that they keep adults on Morphine for days,

then send them home with a strong pain medication, and children are knocked down

to children's Tylenol after one day in the Critical ICU! It sure gives me a big

pain in the heart to see either of my children in any kind of pain! I can stand

to be in pain myself much more easily than I can bear to see a child of mine in

pain.

One little sweet story and then I am off for now... When Jonas was in the

ICU, he had his arms all wrapped up in splints with a velcro covering to keep

him restrained from pulling things out of himself. He was beginning to wake up

and was in pain and agitated. He kept picking up his right arm and putting his

thumb out like a hitchhiker and opening his mouth. His nurse did not

immediately get what that was about until I told her that sucking his thumb is

his way of consoling himself. She took pity on him and took his right arm out

of restraints several times so he could suck his thumb and have his freshly

washed " blankie " from home. His doggie " scooter " received his own arm band in

case he got lost and needed returned to Jonas. He was able to keep the cats

away from Jonas very well during his short hospital stay. Ha Ha...

Blessings,

Barb Martz

Mom to Jonas 3 (MDS) & 9

<><

[Guest guest]

Barb,

How scarey for you! I can only imagine what it felt like for him to get sick

like that right after surgery! Thank God he is doing good now!

Aidan is supposed to stay at least 2 weeks after surgery. I don't know if they

will stick with that or not. But, since they seem to like to keep him there

longer than he ever really needs to be, they probably will. Our main concern is

that when Aidan was about 5 months old, they had sewn his aorta to his chest

cavity in an attempt to open his tracea. Because of this, the doctors worry that

by taking the stitches out of the aorta to take the heart out for repairs, they

could rip the aorta and he could bleed to death. I am not sure what conclusions

they have come to on how they are doing the surgery. But, as many know, Aidan is

our MIRACLE BABY. So, I try not to worry too much.

Let us know how the follow up goes with Jonas!

Kristy

Martz wrote:

Kristy,

I will be lifting Aidan up in prayer for his surgery on the 20th as well as

you and your family. Of course I expected, and was told he would have a longer

hospital stay. They were actually going to send him home after only 3 days, but

some drainage from his chest tube as well as the stricken look on my face

contributed to his getting to stay 4 whole days. They had originally told us he

would be in the hospital for 6 days give or take a day.

We have already been back to the hospital with him because he became

listless, much more pale, whining/sighing in pain constantly, and had a high

fever. He had many tests, X-ray, Echocardiogram etc., and saw the surgeon and

then had more tests and saw him again. In the final analysis, they determined

that his heart and everything about the surgery is still fine. He brought a

virus home from the hospital with him and was achy from head to toe from that.

He was down and out for several days and just today seems to be over the virus.

It was scary to go through wondering what was up with him, and the doctor

thought all the same things I did... fluid around his heart, infection, etc.

Today, he is messing up the house at an alarming rate, and getting into things

he should not, so I am not worried any longer about that virus. It IS nerve

wracking to bring them home so soon. I am not a doctor, or a nurse, and I worry

about all the little things that could go wrong, but his doctor

or the physician's assistant have called every single day since he came home to

check on him, so it is not as if they have forgotten him. He will see the doctor

in follow up next week on Wednesday 7/14.

Take care!

Blessings,

Barb Martz

Mom to Jonas (MDS) 3 & 9

<><

Re: Sir Jonas returns home from hospital

Barb,

I am so glad to hear that everything went so well and that he is already home!

Had you planned a longer stay than this? I thought that recovery would take

longer.

Aidan, my little grandson, is scheduled for open heart surgery on July 20th. I

plan to stay with him during his hospital stay. (The doctors and nurses tend to

listen better to me than my daughter-in-law). I think they are planning to stay

at least a couple of weeks, although Aidan's medical problems outweigh most

everyone elses.

Get some rest and give Jonas a big hug from me!

Kristy

Martz wrote:

Dear Friends,

Thank you for all of your prayers and words of encouragement! Jonas was

in Children's Hospital Pittsburgh for repair of an ASD (hole in his heart) as

well as repair of the mitral valve from 7/1- 7/5. Just 4 days and he is home

already! He is doing very well. I am sleep deprived after staying with him the

entire time at the hospital and having to be a nurse to him for so many things.

He would not take any oral meds for the nurses, so Mom had to awaken in the

middle of the night to play, " Let's take the nice medication like a big boy "

with him every time he was due for meds. He got his shoes on after being

unhooked from the very last IV or tube yesterday, and he ran as fast as his legs

would go, out the door of the room, down the hall and Bob had to really run to

catch him! Since arriving home, he has been stopped from standing on the arm of

the sofa to reach something he should not have anyway, and from jumping on the

bed. He has learned some lessons for himself about

things that he can not do because they just hurt. Keeping him from being too

" busy " will be my biggest challenge for a week here. He does tire out after

awhile and takes nice naps, but his surgeon had him on Tylenol only one day

after the surgery, so he has no medications that really work super well at

keeping him comfortable or relaxed in any way. I did not agree with the doctor

on that when I could clearly see that he was very uncomfortable and irritated by

pain and he finally relented and said he could have Motrin alternating with

Tylenol. As long as we keep on top of giving it to him on time, it is pretty

good. When he naps through a dose or sleeps through a dose, he starts to get

agitated. I personally do not think it would be asking too much to give Jonas

something for a couple of days that would actually make him feel better, but far

be it for me who only spends EVERY DAY getting to know how to read how he is

feeling! I do not know if this surgeon is an island unto

himself, or if no surgeon gives decent pain relief for children because they

can't complain. It just amazes me that they keep adults on Morphine for days,

then send them home with a strong pain medication, and children are knocked down

to children's Tylenol after one day in the Critical ICU! It sure gives me a big

pain in the heart to see either of my children in any kind of pain! I can stand

to be in pain myself much more easily than I can bear to see a child of mine in

pain.

One little sweet story and then I am off for now... When Jonas was in the

ICU, he had his arms all wrapped up in splints with a velcro covering to keep

him restrained from pulling things out of himself. He was beginning to wake up

and was in pain and agitated. He kept picking up his right arm and putting his

thumb out like a hitchhiker and opening his mouth. His nurse did not

immediately get what that was about until I told her that sucking his thumb is

his way of consoling himself. She took pity on him and took his right arm out

of restraints several times so he could suck his thumb and have his freshly

washed " blankie " from home. His doggie " scooter " received his own arm band in

case he got lost and needed returned to Jonas. He was able to keep the cats

away from Jonas very well during his short hospital stay. Ha Ha...

Blessings,

Barb Martz

Mom to Jonas 3 (MDS) & 9

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