CHLA - Day 4

After updating the Day 3 blog last night, I went straight to bed. With no set alarm, I slept until almost 9a. I sooooooo needed that sleep. Jeff held down the fort back at CHLA. Overnight, Ryan's blood count improved and the fever that he had when I left had subsided.

When I had arrived to Ryan's room today, I was so excited to see him! He was awake and looking right at me as I walked up to his crib. I had been immediately introduced to a social worker who had just arrived. Her first question: "Was Ryan born vaginal or c-section?" Taken aback... I had to ask her what she could possibly gain by having that information. I was very irritated. Was this more important than a visit with my child? Hoping that the remaining questions were to be quick and RELEVANT... her next was inquiring about who the child lived with and the next was whether or not friends and family members knew we were here at CHLA. After letting her know that just about everyone we knew was aware - I, sarcastically let her know that I had a family blog and could provide her with the website if she so needed. At that point, I think she realized she wasn't going to get much further and then left the room.

Jeff says, "Boy, she caught you at a bad time".

Here's the deal. The social worker had no foundation to have any conversation with me or Jeff. I wasn't going to go down the road of the questions like "what is the highest level of education you have" and "are there other children in the household" or "do you work full time". We have answered these questions in the past and they never do anything with the answers they get from us. They are simply irrelevant. If she would exhaust her energy in finding out when the Surgical team will be making their next rounds - or better yet - when Ryan can eat - she will get a better response from me. Rest assured if there is someone in this hospital who would like to assume that we are not good parents- bring 'em on! They will not win against this Mother Bear.

We had a few visitors today. Pat came by to visit on his way home from a dealer visit. Although he didn't stay long, it sure was nice that he stopped by. My Aunts and Uncles (and Jenni) all came by this evening as well. They got to spend some time with Ryan and we got to have some conversation outside the medical world!

Ryan is becoming more and more alert and he is feeling better with each day. I actually got to hold him today for a little while. I could tell that he was uncomfortable in my arms. I will begin holding him more frequently in the next couple of days as his pain subsides. Ryan also passed some stool today. This is great news because it means he is starting to function again and with this he can begin to take in fluids besides the IV he has been getting. (Remember, he last had fluids on Monday)

Tonight, Ryan gets to start drinking small amounts of Pedialyte. With increased dosages we will watch to see that he is not having any difficulty with intake and will hopefully get to give him milk soon. I'm sure these will be our milestones tomorrow.