We almost escaped the hospital by getting discharged today but had a few setbacks.
Keegan woke up a lot last night, which means I woke up a LOT as well. He was in a funky mood and giving the nurses some dirty looks. The swelling moved from his eye lids down to big bags under them. His daddy brightened his day when he showed up this morning. Keegan got a huge grin when he showed up.
The neuro nurse practitioner stopped by this morning and told us that if Keegan was able to drink 16 ounces by the end of the day he would be discharged. He had been eating small things such as crackers and cheerios but didn't want to drink anything. Because he was on IV fluids, they thought maybe he didn't have a sense of thirst so they disconnected it and allowed us to take him outside in a wagon. We were to keep him stimulated and give him fluids as much as we could. On the way outside a therapy dog named Raleigh showed up for him . They gave Keegan the leash in the wagon and Keegan actually walked Raleigh to the elevator. Then he got a trading card with Raleigh's picture and information to add to his collection. In the playground he only drank an ounce or so of fluids (we tried milk, chocolate milk, juice, pedialyte, water... you name it!) He got a little tired when he was outside so we headed back to his room so he could nap.
Later, we went outside again on the wagon and he ate a few crackers, goldfish and some teddy grams and was drinking some fluids. However, not too long after, he threw it all up and we headed back into the room. Shortly after, he started to run a fever. Dr. Joganic stopped by and said he wanted to do a urine analysis to see if maybe he had a urinary tract infection since he had a catheter in during and right after the surgery. He said he wasn't concerned about an infection from the surgery because the incision and swelling looked so good and the fever was 5 days after the surgery. He said low grade fevers are common with this type of swelling because of the blood in the head. They thought the vomiting was from the codeine in the tylenol (we are trying regular tylenol no) and the diarrhea caused from the antibiotics which he doesn't need anymore also.
So, it is now 10:30pm on day 5 and Keegan is asleep. His tummy is still upset but his fever has dropped from 101.5 to 99.5 and his swelling has gone down even more. He looks so good =) He also drank 5 ounces of pedialyte this evening. We are hoping the drinking continues tomorrow so we can go home!
I am exhausted and my back hurts from the chairs in the room (I swear they have a contract with a chiropractor or something). Everyone's thoughts and prayers have helped us all so much. We continue to pray for a healthy recovery for Keegan and a discharge very soon.
Our roommate Carter has been here for nearly 8 weeks! He is such a trooper and gone through so much. He had hemorrhaging that occurred all over under his skin and then attacked his lungs and intestines. It is an autoimmune disease that started with strep. He drew Keegan a picture that we hung on the wall. PJ gave him a patch from his squadron and he was excited. Tonight, Carter showed me his scrapbook that he has been working on. On that note, I have NO room to complain about the uncomfortable hospital room accommodations.
♥ ,
Tara
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