The Airway

Sheldon was removed again from the respirator today, and this time the doctors realized that his throat had swollen almost shut. Obviously this made breathing difficult for Sheldon, so they quickly put him back on the machine. Tomorrow at 7:15AM, they will remove it again (Sheldon will be out cold), only this time they will have a nose and throat specialist on hand to examine Sheldon and try to figure out what's wrong.

Our impression of Sheldon today was that he has continued to improve in small ways. He moves around more, and all the IV's have been disconnected. He's still on a few drugs, but the removal of most of the IV lines seems to make a big difference.

Today Ben and Viola had their mail delivered to them, and found that a set of math problems had been sent to Sheldon, complete with a note on the top for Sheldon to show all his work!! No mercy from Sheldon's teachers, I guess... We might have to give him a hand with those, though. Does it count as cheating if we write down the answers based on what we think Sheldon is telling us?

Pardon me while I ramble. Medical update is done, more tomorrow.

The PICU is a strange, sad place. It reminds me of an airport, in a way. You're all there with something in common, but the meaning of time changes. Time is important, but not counted the same way as the rest of the world counts it. It's not day or night or lunchtime, just the time between important events. There are many very sick kids (or babies) there, and distressed families camping in the little waiting room. My own tiny little one-year old daughter runs around oblivious in her bright pink sleeper, standing in sharp contrast against the tension, but to me she makes the horror of what those families are going through more real. Ben and Viola so far have maintained an amazing outlook through this ordeal, and their faith is strong.