Tuesday

The last couple days have been pretty much more of the same. Another sleepless night last night thanks to Molly who woke up screaming 5 times and the POS feeding pump which crapped out again at 4 am. I had to page the on-call nurse and we finally got it running again. I swear I was about to lob that thing off our deck into the ravine below (except I probably would have hit a homeless person in the head and then I would have felt bad). Poor Dave got to endure my seldom-used trucker vocabulary in full force (so glad the kids were sound asleep). Fortunately, the company that provided the pump had a new one couriered to us tonight (we told them he starts his feeding at 10 pm, so the courier was knocking on the door at 9:59 tonight).

I had to take Miles and Molly for check-ups (including immunizations) today. It had been a while since I'd had to bring the kids for shots since Dave had usually been doing that. I knew it was going to be rough as both Miles and Ian have always been totally and completely irrational about shots. When Miles heard he needed two shots he bolted from the exam room and went screaming down the hall in nothing but his Spiderman underpants. I have no idea where he thought he'd go, but a nurse headed him off and carried him kicking and screaming back into the room. All attempts at reasoning with him failed miserably, as did attempted bribery. It finally took me and two nurses to pin him down for two quick shots. I think poor Molly thought he was being murdered (as I'm sure everyone else in the pediatrician's office did as well). When it was finally over and I suggested it couldn't have been as bad as he expected, he said it was worse and he was going to find Kathy (the nurse) and kill her. Oh, and then he went through this whole production of dragging his leg behind him all the way out of the office.

Ok, I realize this blog is really about Dave and not the kids, but the simple fact that I now have things to say about the kids is a good indication that Dave is doing better every day, and my life is starting to feel slightly more normal. If we get some decent weather, I want to get him outside to do some walking. He's been able to eat a bit more food every day. He's still on a very soft food diet - pureed soups, pudding, yogurt, etc - and is probably taking in less than 500 calories a day by mouth (plus he gets 1,000 calories each night with the feeding tube).

He's also spending more time out of bed and interacting more with the kids. It hurts him to move his head because of the big incision running down the side of his neck, so he seems to be always staring straight ahead. Yesterday, Ian asked, "Dad, why do you always look like that now?" Dave asked him what he meant and Ian gave this bug-eyed, stiff-necked pose. It was pretty comical and I'm happy to say Dave is regaining some of his humor.

Thanks to those of you who called and offered to have a kid (or kids) over for playdates, and those of you who called to check in on my mental status. I'm doing fine, really. I'm tired, but I'm not about to crack up (any more than usual, that is). I know we'll get through this and will emerge on the other side with our smiles still intact.