Isaiah's Days

My thoughts are of Isaiah today. I am heading back to Telkwa tomorrow morning after being with him in Vancouver for two weeks. Goodbyes are not easy but once he's back in PG we will see him again. He could there go any day now. We've been waiting for transport by air ambulance for five days.  Fun fact: when sitting outside the hospital on 12th Ave. on a Sunday you will spot 73 Teslas in an hour. On a weekday you will spot 120 of them in an hour. Fun fact #2: one hair elastic CAN last two weeks without getting lost. I never thought it possible. At home I seem to lose them everywhere. But here, having only one, it became my prized possession. 

It's been a difficult week for our son. He is medically ready to return to PG but we are waiting for a transport team. Although he is more than grateful that I am here with him everyday, he can hardly tolerate my leaving every evening. It's overwhelming for Isaiah to be alone. I think being left alone with his thoughts is the main issue. He admitted to being worried sick about remaining this way forever. Now, more than ever, Isaiah needs people to build him up.  On a happier note, Isaiah begged and pleaded and got himself a two hour pass yesterday! He got out of his gown and put some clothes on. We drove to Wendy's and then toured around BC Place, Rogers Arena, the Olympic Village, etc. He wants to go to Granville Island today but I don't know if he can get another pass.  Once we get transport news, he may need to be ready to leave in 15 like minutes. Docs don't think it's very professional to say, "OK, but we'll need to wait because our patient is on a...

Hello everyone! Isaiah is doing well. His pain has subsided substantially and he has officially asked for larger portion sizes for his meals - this means he's feeling much better. lol We are waiting for him to be done the IV blood thinner called Heparin. (Update *he's done now) He will be taking the blood thinner pill again.  I have a feeling they can transfer him back to PG soon. He is so ready and anticipating his trip back. He can't wait to start physio again!  Update *He is moving out of the Step Down Unit to a normal room. In case I didn't mention what this is before, the Step Down Unit is simpler to little ICU within the regular unit. He will be sharing his new room but it will have a window!

Isaiah is feeling good. He's eating regular food and is very happy for that. Eggs and toast this morning and baked spaghetti for lunch. Yogurt, pudding, peaches, juices and milk as well.  He has been up in a chair, pivoting from the bed to sit. I saw him take two steps backwards too. He's using the washroom with minimum assistance and thankfully, he can eat by himself too.  The wound drain for the pericardium should be removed tomorrow. I attached a picture of his tube because I think it's super amazing. It's down below in case some on you don't want to look.  We don't know if he will go from here to PG or to somewhere here for a bit. 

10:30 am Isaiah is in pre-op. Meaning he may be done in two hours but then he'll have to do two hours in recovery. 4:00 pm The surgery went as expected. We are so happy and thankful to the Lord! He will be in recovery for about two hours now.  7:00 pm Isaiah just contacted me and said he's ready for me to bring him some food. Hasn't eaten since midnight. 

Today Isaiah finally transfered to VGH.  He is in and out of sleep. Thankfully he's only been short with me once and he said sorry right away.  He had a CT, chest xray, chest ultrasound, blood work, getting an IV soon - still in emerg because the system is flawed and says ER has to clear them before they go up to their ward. Good news is that his resting heart rate is at 75 now instead of 110 which is what it was on Monday! Here's what I added to my Dad's post so I thought I'd just copy and paste it here: The pericardium is the protective sac that surrounds the heart. It always has some fluid in it and acts like bubble wrap to protect the heart.  Isaiah's pericardium is slowly filling up with more fluid but behind the heart instead of dispersing evenly around the heart.  This is why he was transferred back to Vancouver so they could do a different, more open heart procedure that PG cannot do. (Because of the position of the fluid.)  Why is it retaining fluid? Al...

The fluid in Isaiah's pericardium has increased from 2cm to 4cm.  Still awaiting more information about when he will get the open heart procedure to drain it.