Better Day Today!

(First published on CaringBridge, December 2018)

What's this picture, you ask? When Chandler was in high school, he sustained one of countless gashes due to extreme sports falls. Mind you, with my firstborn, I would have been at the emergency room immediately, quite possibly by ambulance. By the time boy #3 came along, I was far more laid back, and I learned early on that if I took Chandler to the ER with every bloody fall, they would likely turn me in to child protective services. 

So after this particular injury, I slathered on the usual wound care ointment and forgot about it...until I received a call from Chandler's school nurse telling me he was in her office bleeding and she thought he probably needed stitches. Mother of the Year here. Well, flash forward to today when I was leaned over Chandler's bed talking to him and all of a sudden his breathing tube snapped off! I had inadvertently disconnected it. I yelled an expletive, and the respiratory therapist came to the rescue and instantly put my mind at ease -- "They're like Legos...they come apart sometimes." Again, Mother of the Year. And also, am I really supposed to feel better that breathing tubes sometimes just come apart like Legos?  

So now for today's update. Last night they had to increase Chandler's oxygen support due to some mucous in his lungs, but they did a bronchoscopy today and removed it. He is still not responding to commands, but today he was less agitated, and he seemed more alert. I could see less angst in his eyes. I needed that desperately. Tomorrow they will do an MRI to try to get a clearer picture of any damage to his brain that a CT scan would miss.

Please pray with us for continually increasing peace and calmness for Chandler's body and mind and that tomorrow's MRI will show us a very clear picture of what is going on in his brain.