Sunday, October 3, 2010

Leaps And Bounds

In the past 24 hours or so, William has greatly improved! He finally got out of bed and made a slow, assisted hobble around the PICU. He pushed his morphine button 5 times during the walk. Hey, that's what it's for, right? After returning to his room, he found a hospital Game Cube gaming system from Child Life parked outside his room. That made the walk worth it. He did a great job maneuvering himself back into bed so he could play video games. He still needs quite a bit of assistance, but he's moving himself around more than I would if I had an incision like his. A plate of fruit had also been delivered from the cafeteria so I set that beside him in bed. He exclaimed, "This is the life! In bed, playing video games, and eating fruit. This is the life!" The nurse and I just laughed with delight at his happy perspective.

All his brothers came to visit this afternoon too. William enjoyed handing out packs of Skittles to each of them, but I think their commotion was a little draining on him by the end of their visit. They all ooohed and ahhhed at the scar and then wanted to know where the kitchen was with the fridge full of chocolate milk and Sprite! It was nice to be together as a family and I hope it helps the boys to have a physical image of where William is when we say he's at the hospital.

The other highlight of the day was Connor's visit. Connor has a liver disease called Congenital Hepatic Fibrosis and has spent his share of time in hospitals. He had surgery at the end of December to reroute some veins going from his spleen to his liver and reconnect them to veins going to his kidney. So basically, serious business going on in similar parts of the body as William. Connor is a true fighter! www.connorsjourney.com. He was nice enough to come show William his scar. It was amazing to see! Connor's scar is the same shape and in the same place as William's scar. For being only 9 months old, his scar looks fantastic. It is so light and Connor even said it's shrunk! Thanks, Connor (and Jared and Tiffany)!

I know my picture quality is a little grainy, but isn't it great that you have to look so hard to see Connor's scar?

7 comments:

  1. glad to hear he's on the mend and in recovery mode. What a great scar. Chics DO dig scars. It's a physical testimant to your toughness and William is one tough kid!!! Love the pictures of your family.
    Audrey

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  2. Wow, Connor and William comparing scars! Both strong, resilient and amazing boys. I must say, those scars are impressive!
    William continues to uplift with his incredible attitude :-) Julie and Ryan, you have so much to be proud of.
    Oh, and a belated Happy Birthday to Clark!!! Loved the photos...I can still picture him in kindergarten with that impish grin!
    Hugs to all.

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  3. The light is in Will's eyes. I hope I get to meet Connor sometime. It helps to have someone who has been through something similar and serious, who is handling it so well! You're right, Will, THIS is the life!! To have such a strong boy as you are! Loves to all--and I miss grandpa. i know he'll be spending the night wil you tonight Will. I'm glad you can be together. He worked hard on the Williams' stories for you.

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  4. It's so great to see that big smile on William's face!

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  5. Conner's scar is barely visible--amazing! How cool for them both to have a friend who can relate. William has such a great attitude. I love that--"This is the life!" It's awesome that you have those funny moments (and the hard ones too) recorded here to remember. I'm so thrilled that the surgery was so successful and am happy that recovery is going well. William is a champ!

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  6. wow. i'll never complain about a c-section recovery again.
    LOVE YOU ALL!!!

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