A little action

Alex has had a little more action today than yesterday. This morning they pulled his big chest tube. This one is the most painful for these kids. He still has 2 left that will be pulled over the next day or two. As he is up and moving more they are able to tell how much fluid his body needs to drain. Once his body will reabsorb this fluid they can pull those tubes. His arterial line from his wrist and an I.V. were pulled. The only I.V. left is in his foot and its pretty painful for him. I'm sure it's going bad, we're just trying to keep it open long enough for him to start eating better and then he won't need any. If we can avoid poking him any more times that would be awesome!

He got to get out of bed and go for a wagon ride just a few minutes ago. He stood up and was really wobbly. He took 3 steps to the wagon and was done. He cried and said his foot hurt (I.V.), but that was it. He coughed a bunch and took some nice big breaths once he settled down. It was just a short ride, but it was a ride. He took 3 more steps to get back in the chair and stood again for about a minute. We got him settled in the chair, he drank an ounce of chocolate milk in about 1 1/2 seconds and crashed back out. His color is great, his breathing sounds really good and he seemed to tolerate the movement other than his foot hurting. We'll try again later on too.

Here are a couple of pics from the ride:

We are hoping to be transferred to the floor today. The orders have been written, but there's no beds open right now. It's bitter sweet. The ICU is great because you have your nurse basically to yourself right at the bedside, but....you have no privacy and no quiet whatsoever. On the floor the nurses are more spread out and not as readily available, but you do get your private room where you can turn out the lights and close the door. We know the floor is a good thing, that means he's getting better!

Sam and Bon-bon and Pa are coming to visit this afternoon. Alex can't wait to see Sam, and I'm sure the feeling is mutual. Have a great day..... we'll update soon.

Oh, and I'm not sure if Hamma reads the blog anymore, but we also want to wish Gary's mom a very Happy Birthday! We'll celebrate when we can all be together for one big bash! Happy Birthday Hamma!