Ups and Downs, Ins and Outs

Today was full of highs and lows. Unfortunately it's ending on a low. The good news is Anders is doing great. The bad news is we'll be in the hospital two more nights.

We were excited to get the news this morning that Anders could get his chest tube out. They were right about him being a different baby--as soon as it was out, he was smiling, playing, and even laughing at his big brother! I was so relieved to see him acting almost like himself that I cried from relief and happiness. We even had reason to hope that we could go home this afternoon.

He later had a chest x-ray to check the status of his lungs. Sadly, it showed that he had some air trapped in his chest cavity that required getting another chest tube back in. That means more x-rays, more pain meds, more discomfort, and more nights for momma and daddy on pitiful "cots" away from our home, our bed, and our Izey.

Speaking of Spike, he's having fun being spoiled rotten in every possible way by all four grandparents, but he misses us and we miss him. He's been to the hospital three times and seems to be processing the fact that Anders has to "get better" before we can come home. He was very concerned when he saw Ando's incision, and he sweetly sang him a song, tickled him, and tried to make him laugh. He's also had a couple of emotional meltdowns--during one he was crying his eyes out, hitting me, and yelling, "Knock if off!" It was pretty pathetic, but not totally unexpected of a 2.5 year old who doesn't know what to make of all this yucky stuff.

The agenda for tomorrow is a x-ray at 7:30am, chest tube out in the afternoon if all goes well, home Saturday morning. After my initial disappointment (that's putting it mildly) at not being able to go home this afternoon, I'm simply resigned. Plus, of course I want to do whatever's right for Anders's health.

This is certainly a new year's eve we'll always remember. Happy 2010 everybody!