I was in a PLACE last night....
so when I went to write our daily update I got THIS instead.
Guess God had something else to say!
I happy to report that both Nathaniel and I got over 8 hours of somewhat uninterrupted sleep last night! Even though the bed was 6 inches shorter than I am, and the nurses are LOUD right outside our room, and our roommate both SNORE super loud, and Nathaniel insisted on holding my hand across the beds ALL night long, we got restful sleep! Thank you Lord!
So, now I can tell you about our day yesterday.
Nathaniel is a ROCK STAR, in case anyone was wondering.
This kid underwent 15 hours of surgery 7 days ago.
He has a 6 inch incision down his lower spine with countless stitches holding it all together, which itches like crazy since it is healing.
His legs HURT from lack of PT and use (he went from 1.5 hours minimum of PT and lots of activity daily to not being able to move at all for 4 days... you try that!)
He is scared because his body isn't working the way he remembers it working just a week ago.
And yet he smiles,
He laughs,
He works incredibly hard,
and he walks the walk!
So, yesterday morning Nathaniel did a great job of STANDING (with the assistance of his walker) for his morning self care. Then he got DRESSED in real clothes! And had some breakfast. After all of this he was a bit blah. So I talked the nurse into letting me take him for a roll!
He was so happy to be out of the room, and all we did was go to the cafeteria. But look at that smile!
Right when we got back from our little journey PT was there to take Nathaniel for his first session of the day. That time they did lots of range of motion work to see where Nat is now, post surgery. It was a ton of stretching and lots of hard work for Nathaniel, but he did awesome, of course.
After PT my boy was tired. I took him back to his room in hopes of lunch, but he wasn't interested in eating anything. In the end, he needed to change clothes, which meant that I was running short on clothes for him (he doesn't have much he can wear right now) so I let him nap while I ran back to the family house to do laundry and shower.
I am feeling so BLESSED that we got into the family house. It is a very nice facility that is located very close to the hospital and is for families with children at that hospital that live far away. The family house is much less expensive than a hotel, it is really convenient and it is set up for FAMILIES. On the floor we are on there are washer and driers, a family lounge with TV, books and board games, a play room fully stocked with toys for kids and siblings, and a full kitchen in addition to showers and the rooms themselves. At the family house they serve a breakfast buffet daily for families and the house is staffed with the NICEST people! Overall I feel so blessed to have this haven to retreat to! The other super nice thing is that my car is in the locked parking lot at family house, so I feel like it is as safe as can be here an parking is FREE!
After I got back from laundry and shower it was time to take Nathaniel to the arcade...
Shh..... don't tell him that the arcade is actually physical therapy!!
He was so into the games that he didn't notice how hard he was working until we were all done and he couldn't walk back to his chair he was so tired!
After all this work we headed back upstairs to rest again.
This is when we got the AWESOME NEWS!!!
Drum roll please....
WE GOT INSURANCE APPROVAL!!!!
NATHANIEL HAS BEEN ACCEPTED INTO THE IN PATIENT REHAB!!!
This is very exciting news to us, as the services we can get at home are not nearly as comprehensive as the ones that we can get here. So this means that Nathaniel is going to get an even bigger leg up on his recovery! Praise the Lord, this is really great news for Nathaniel.
The downside of course, is that we are here longer.
2-6 weeks longer.
Which is 2-6 weeks longer of alone in a strange town,
2-6 weeks longer with our family split up.
2-6 weeks longer of no work for momma.
But as I was saying just yesterday, this journey is not about what is easy or what is convenient or what makes me comfortable. This journey is about improving the quality of Nathaniel's life. This journey is about getting the VERY BEST services and care available for Nathaniel. This journey is about sacrificing to do as the Lord would have us to do. This journey is about being obedient to Him, about being the best mom I can be and about HEALING. This journey WILL stretch us, and grow us, and CHANGE us... there is no way a journey like this can't do those things. So we embrace the journey and walk on.
So in the late afternoon we.....
Packed up and moved!
We moved up to the 4th floor now. We keep playing musical rooms, but I hope this will settle out soon. The Rehab Unit was a bit of a shock to us. It is very LOUD here, and we have a roommate now. Nathaniel was very overwhelmed with the environment here and we all had a very hard time. Hence the melt down from the post above.
After our time out, I was able to come back and focus in on Nathaniel. He ate a tiny bite while I was gone, and he was very tired. We got to bed early, although he did not fall asleep until late. Thankfully now we are rested and ready to attack this new day!
As always, thank you for your prayers and support.
We love you so much!
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