Good news. We are home! Shortly after the previous post, the nurses eased off the heavy duty pain medications and went to using just tylenol with codeine. That made a big difference in Miles. He sort of came out of his "fog" and started smiling at us and trying to play with toys. We call that "turning the corner". :) What a relief that was! On day 2 after surgery he still had minimal swelling, of which everyone was impressed. The nurses couldn't believe it. They slowly removed more IV lines from his arms, but they still had to keep the drain in which came from his head, and they still had to monitor his vitals. Later that day, a resident from the plastic surgery team came in and told us our surgeon said to take the bandages off, take the drain out, and that we could go home. We were shocked. Happy, but shocked, and not quite ready for it. We watched as the doctor removed the bandages. We were happy to see that the incisions looked pretty much how we thought they would, although to people who don't know what to expect, they do look large and scary. (I will not post pictures of those incase any of you have weak stomachs). :) We could not watch while he took the drain out, but Miles handled it like a champ; one big cry and then it was over. So although we were happy to have all that done and happy that they said we could go home, we did not feel comfortable just yet to care for him and his incisions on our own. We requested to stay until the next morning, which they said was no problem. So that night they moved us out of the PICU and into a step-down room.
Throughout that night and morning, things just got better. Miles was playing more, eating a little more, and we were holding him more. He was also down to just regular tylenol for pain control. By the next morning, we were confident and ready to go home. Now that we are home, Miles is great. He is smiling, and playing with his toys; he is eating better and resting better. Our focus now is keeping his wounds clean and infection-free and keeping him safe from his big brother. :) We will appreciate your continued prayers for that. Our follow up appointment is September 5 and then we will get his helmet shortly after that. Here are some pictures of Miles' recovery:
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| Finally out of the "fog". |
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| Sitting with Mommy. |
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| Bandages already falling off, hanging with Daddy. |
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| After bandages removed, with our friend Colleen, who came to visit us a lot and helped keep us sane. :) |
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| On our way home, happy to see the light of day. |
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