If I Could Split Myself in Two (10 days left)

I am home tonight and Jeff is with Matthew.  Social Worker came by and encouraged me to get out of the building. The only way I would even consider that is to make sure his dad was with him. He doesn't need to be alone.  So much has happened over the past 10 days, and we are still unsure of what is ahead of us tomorrow. 

Wednesday was not as good as Tuesday. His followup CT scan showed no change in the size of the abscesses even with a week of IV antibiotics.  His white blood cell count is up from 10 to 12 and his temperature is hovering around 100.  Needless to say he wasn't allowed to come home.  He still has very little appetite and needs a lot of rest.  You can tell he just doesn't feel too good.  He doesn't need so much pain meds which probably "masked" his fever.  Now that he takes tylenol a few times a day, the fever shows up more. I hope that makes sense to you.  The newest development is that Interventional Radiologists may try to remove the areas of fluid in the abdomen with a fine needle and catheter.  There will be a meeting of the surgeons and radiologist to see if it is accessible and beneficial at this time. For now he needs to stay in the hospital for IV antibiotics, as they are keeping it at bay.  He will have missed two weeks of school and don't know what next week will hold.  He has a lot of mending to do. It was very hard leaving him tonight, even though he had his dad.  After all I have been with him 24 hours a day while in the hospital.

It is nice to be home.  The girls and I stopped at Wal-Mart and got some groceries. We were home by  eleven and I have gone through slips on Quicken and Scheduled some bills.  The house looks nice,and  there is clean laundry folded on the radiator.  I still hope to fold a load before bed.  My couch is extra comfortable and I can only imagine what sleeping in a real bed will feel like after sleeping on the makeshift bed in Matthew's room. I have tried to make things as homey as possible in room 7007.  Have a few things on my list to do in the morning.  Sammy was glad to see me and had to give me a real good sniffing.

Tomorrow I will attend Mary's academic award day. Matthew will be recognized too!  Mary will receive her gold cord to wear with her graduation gown Friday for Swingout, Baccalaureate and Graduation. Of course I will be checking in with Jeff too, as the doctors come in early in the morning. It is important to me to keep current on Matt's progress and plan of care.  I plan to be back at the hospital by noon and then get to the airport to pick up my mom. She arrives around 3 pm. It will be nice to have her here.  Feel bad though, since I have no meals planned etc.. Not to organized for company, my focus is on:

1. Matthew getting better and coming home.
2. Mary enjoying her graduation activities
3. Doing some fun things with Sarah with the little time she is home from college.

Not to mention that I have orchestra this Sunday, a emergency softball coaches meeting Thursday that I will need to find a person to go in my stead, and having clean laundry for the family.

Pray for Matthew, as he is anxious about all that has happened to him and the uncertainty of tomorrow. Pray that God will heal his infection and that he can come home soon.

Pray for the girls, who have given up fun times together and kept up the house as much as they can.  Allow them to enjoy each day as much as they can. 

Pray for Jeff and me, as we stay with Matthew each day. Help us to be a comfort to him, strong for him and for all of us to rely on God's great love for the family, esp Matt at this time. We want to make smart decisions.

Guess the laundry will have to wait, as I am getting really tired.  Will try to update as often as I can.

Grace