No news really just means there's no news. Clayton is still draining from his two chest tubes, and that's the big story. This surgery changed a lot about his circulatory system, and this is a known complication. Luckily, he's really adapted well to being in the hospital, and he's happy most of the time. While most adults lay still when they have chest tubes, kids get on with life. I have to remind Clayton a million times a day to stay near his chest tube boxes. I can't believe he hasn't pulled one of them out yet. He's on the go constantly. He's never been a fast mover, but even a slow mover is hard to keep up with 100% of the time when they've got a three foot leash. The chest tubes are the originals from surgery, and as the skin tries to heal around those tubes, the stitches tend to come loose, and they are prone to falling out. I'm really hoping they stay in until we're done with them.
The drainage has been decreasing very slightly the last few days. The right tube has always done the bulk of the draining, and its drainage is still significant, between 120 and 200mL (about 4 to 7 oz.) a day. The left tube, however, has been looking good the last couple days. It's been around 30 to 40mL (about an ounce), so they are considering pulling that tube today. I'll keep you posted. Getting these things out is definitely no fun, but it's progress in the right direction, so with a little morphine, I really hope it will go okay.
Staying busy is, of course, our biggest challenge. So many people have sent little goodies for Clayton, and the newness of them all is really great for Clayton. The doctors keep asking about his spirits, and I tell them honestly that he's doing great, it's Ryan and I that are bored stiff. I'm very blessed that Clayton is my kid that is easy to entertain. If you hand that boy five Matchbox cars, he's good for an hour. No one loves to watch movies more than Clayton. We don't allow the boys to watch much tv at home, but I've let him watch movie after movie here, and he loves it. It really does help pass the time. They have a really large selection of on-demand movies that mostly somewhat current and popular, including many Disney and Pixar films. We also have lots of paper, crayons, markers, etc. to help pass the time.
The playroom. Oh, the playroom. It's open 2 to 4pm everyday and 6:30 to 8pm Monday-Thursday, which is pretty limited hours. It's small and cramped, but for some reason, Clayton loves it. I don't know why. He usually heads straight for their bucket of cars. We have about 20 Matchbox in our room, but there's something about their cars he loves. They ususally have some kind of a craft, but as with most crafts, they're usually more girly, and he's usually not interested in that. I'm sooo bored there, but he enjoys it, so I really make an effort to get him there every time it's open. Last night they made Flubber, which was actually fun for boys too, so that was refreshing.
I've been getting some reading done, and Ryan's chipping away it ACSC, so I guess that's good. We're pretty ready to get home. It feels like we don't see each other all that much, as Ryan stays at the hospital at night, and I stay at the Ronald McDonald House. Then we try to give each other generous breaks during the day to get business done, rest, and get a little sunshine. Hopefully the left chest tube will come out in the next day or two, and then we'll just be waiting for the right to dwindle down as well.
We appreciate all the support and everyone who is helping take care of our kids and things back home.
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