Perseverance

Chase here again. Well, we made it through the first 24 hours and are glad to be through it. Yesterday was very rough. VERY rough. Elias was not a happy camper for most of the day because of the pain. There were times when he was almost hysterical and nothing would satisfy him. He would reach his arms up to Meagan and cry, "Mommy, mommy, mommy..." Meagan would lean down and hug him the best she could. Then he would turn to me and cry, "Daddy, daddy, daddy..." So, of course, I would lean down, kiss him, and hug him the best I could while he was lieing on his back. This would happen over and over and over... Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. Nothing would really satisfy him. Not his favorite stuffed animal, toy truck, or tractor book. I guess the things of this world, even the things that you love, are rubbish when you're in pain. You just want the people you love and you want the pain to stop.

After a few hours of this, nurses started making phone calls. "This doctor says this... that doctor said that, we can't get hold of Dr. So-and-so..." (Don't think they weren't doing their job. The nurses and doctors actually did a fantastic job of caring for Elias and us. They are tireless workers for the sake of the children here.) Finally, at 6:30 PM, he got a dose of morphine... and all of sudden, it was like somebody bought someone a coke and the whole began to sing in harmony. Ahhh, morphine.

The night was OK. Elias slept for few hours at a time, as did we. Meagan and I drifted off around 10:00. Around midnight, I "woke up" to a couple of nurses and Meagan doing something with Elias. Naturally, my fatherly instincts kicked in and I wanted to get up and tend to my son. However, I think Vladimir Putin slipped something in my drink the night before because I felt like Barry Bonds just whacked me in the head with a baseball bat. It was like my body suddenly realized all the stress, lack of sleep, and hospital food that it had endured. Anyway, eventually after a few minutes my spirit overcame my body and I actually stood up. Elias was getting another dose of morphine. He had woke and was in some pretty substantial pain that prevented any of us from sleeping. Once again, captain morphine came to the rescue.

It is now mid-morning on the day after and things are much better. The anesthesiologist removed the epidural and Elias has started on oral meds. This is a big step as they believe that he is doing well enough to manage the pain by oral meds alone. He still has his IV in if they need to administer morphine, but they're hoping this won't be necessary.

Elias is close to being himself today. He's eating fairly well, "reading" books, and playing with various toy construction vehicles. (This kid is going to be an automotive engineer someday - if he doesn't work with his daddy in prosthetics. :) The surgeon came to see us and was so impressed that he may allow us to leave early! Please continue to pray for Elias that he would heal quickly and be able to keep his wits when he can't understand or communicate about everything going on. Pray for Meagan and I that we would have steadfast patience and godly wisdom in caring for Elias.

Persevering-

The Brown Clan