A Good Day

It is funny what constitutes a good day. A day at, say, Disneyland should be a good day, right?, but it could also be a very bad day. Think about it. You could encounter long lines, you could have a sinus trouble that makes any fast rides torturous, your toddler could run off into the crowds on Main Street and be found in Frontierland, your kid could be caught shoplifting and carted off to Disney Jail, Space Mountain could break down while you are strapped in and you could hang there in the dark for hours. There are really so many ways that the day you looked forward to at the "happiest place on Earth"could turn into a bad, bad day. Just use your imagination. It works vice-versa too.

Today was to be a bad day. A sick, hungry, kid in pain, a hospital room, isolation, far from family and friends, scheduled surgery. All the makings of a really crappy day, as far as days go. I woke up this morning expecting the worst. I didn't get it.

Last night when the Dr. said Dylan was to have surgery today I was so disheartened, and even more so this morning after talking to another doctor, as I wrote about in my last post. But when Dylan finally woke up this morning he was feeling pretty good. Not great, but good. And very hungry and thirsty, of course. I told him about the day's itinerary, namely another surgery. He didn't say anything, but his face fell. I asked him how he felt about that. He whispered "A little mad...and sad." My sentiments exactly.

We watched a few movies together and waited for the word to transfer down to the OR. Lunchtime came and went. No lunch, and no word form the OR. The physical therapist came. I told him Dylan was having surgery today. But the PT just thought that was all the more reason to get him up and moving before he wouldn't be able to anymore. Dylan did great. The PT was so pleased, amazed at the vast improvement from just yesterday. He was getting around with that walker like it was nothing. He did at least a dozen laps of the space we carved out for him in the small hospital room. While the PT was so pleased, he was also worried that any gains Dylan was making now would be lost after the surgery, and that was discouraging.

But just as the PT was finishing up, the nurse walked in with a tray of food. "Good news," she said, "no surgery today!" Wow. That was certainly unexpected. I never spoke with the doctor and am not sure exactly why not. All the nurse said was that he wanted to wait and see. Maybe he got back some results that were encouraging. Maybe he consulted with doctors and they came to another conclusion. Maybe the OR was booked. I am not sure. And I am not sure if he will have the surgery tomorrow, or the next day, or never. But Dylan was eating, so it wouldn't be today. I could live with that.

Dylan enjoyed his lunch - devoured it actually. That was good to see.

Then he sat up in a chair and was anxious to DO something. This was good too. Now he can sit up because his hip feels much better, and he can use his hands because his new IV is in the middle of his forearm, which allows him more movement. He spent a long time painting a wooden snake black and red, and then a clay turtle bank green and red. I was so happy to watch him enjoying himself, DOing something.

Then he got to take his first shower in a week and a half. After the nurse taped plastic all over his IV and incision, he was able to get unhooked from every cord and tube (a good, good thing) and get into a shower. Dylan is kind of a neat freak, so a shower and clean hair must have been really good. (His brother Derek would have loved the excuse to not take a shower for a week and a half. Maybe Derek hasn't showered since then either..., you know, in solidarity.) He smells so good again.

Then we watched Napolean Dynamite together and laughed. Laughing is good too.

Today many people called, emailed, left sweet and funny comments on my blog, and a brother in our ward, who commutes near here, even stopped by, on orders of his wife. So much love and support is so very good.

So there it is. An unexpectedly good day. We are still in a hospital, alone, far from home, my kid is still inexplicably sick and in pain, and we don't know when we will get home. But there was no surgery, for whatever reason, quite possibly a good one. A full stomach, clean hair, a jaunt around the hospital room, an artistic endeavor, a funny movie. These are all the makings of a good day. Who would have thought? I guess it really is all relative.

A good day. I'll take it. I promised in my last post that I won't get ahead of myself again and start getting my hopes up. This crazy trip has taught me that we never know what tomorrow will bring. Tomorrow may bring surgery, or an all clear from the docs. Who knows? Today was no day at Disneyland, but that may be a good thing, right? Today was a good day, and I'll take one good day at a time.

The nurse just took Dylan's temperature and it is spiking again. Perhaps today was only a reprieve after all. Here's hoping for a good night. We'll worry about tomorrow come morning.