Day 21 - Bye Bye ICU!

It's hard to believe we've spent the last three weeks in the ICU. The staff at Children's is truly amazing. There are a few nurses and doctors I've become very fond of and, as strange as it sounds, will miss seeing on a day to day basis. I will miss having a dedicated nurse who's only job is to care for Jake, however, I'm very thankful he's moving beyond the need for one. Leaving them means we are moving onto the next phase of Jake's journey, so that is fantastic news!

He is moving up to the 6th floor, which is the rehab floor, and will have intensive therapy twice a day with OT/PT and Speech, probably for the next 8-12 weeks. He has made tremendous progress over the past three weeks but we still have a long way to go.  We are amazed at the effect of just being bedridden has had on his body, as he is so weak....we had not anticipated that.  He will be on a fairly regimented schedule which I think will be really good for him and give some structure to his days.  I hope the move and change of scenery will help him.  He's still sleeping very little and wants to know when he can sleep in his own bed.  We've been explaining to him what's happened at a pretty high level, but he just wants to get out of the hospital and back to normal, and I can't say I blame him. Last night, Jake told Todd that he "wants to wake up from this dream."  It broke my heart.  As an adult, I have a hard enough time wrapping my head around all of this.  It's even more difficult for a 10 year old to understand when he's had brain injury, been on sedation, drugs, etc. However, I keep reminding myself how far we've come already and I am thankful for his successes each day. We are looking forward to many more successes in the coming weeks as he continues through his recovery.

I wanted to take a minute to thank everyone for all the wonderful comments on the blog and Facebook as well as the prayers and support we've received. It really helps to read through them when we are having days when our tank is empty and needs refilling.

As soon as he's ready and we figure out his new schedule, we'll let everyone know about visitors. For now, we need to keep things as calm as possible.

Specific Prayer Requests

1. Continued healing of Jake's throat. (While he's talking more, he is still very horse and his throat is still recovering from the breathing tube).
2. Continued strengthening of Jake's neck so he can begin eating solid foods.
3. Help for those who care for him to come up with creative solutions to make the feeding tube more bearable. 
4. Stamina and strength for all involved as he starts the rehab phase