Good Day

Today was Rachel's duedate. You would think I wouldn't be able to remember that, considering I have all the birthdays to remember, but I do. I thought maybe she would be a Valentine baby, but she surprised us by coming early. Then I thought Amberlea might, as I had a lot of contractions with her on Valentine's Day, but she decided to wait a few more days. Originally, Amberlea was due on March 2nd, but they moved her duedate up to Feb. 29th...I thought, oh no! She couldn't wait that long, though, and I was in the clear for a Leap Day baby. Then Tye was due on March 4th, and they moved his date up to Feb. 29th also (yes, both born in leap years). I figured I was a gonner then, and I surely couldn't escape leap year again. But he was in a hurry and was almost born in January. I am glad, in hindsight, that they each at least have their own day, and don't have to share it with Valentine's Day (or have their birthdays every 4 years!). At one point in my life, not a whole lot went on in February!

Today was all in all a good day. Brian was very talkative this morning when the tech came for his bath. Then he really doled it out to the hospice nurse when she came. She had to run back to the office for a "staple remover" to take his staples out from last week, and she asked if he needed anything else. He told her a quarter pounder! He was kidding, but he continued to really razz her and give her a hard time. She returned with the sutcher kit in hand and a quarter pounder, and Brian was almost speechless. They take really good care of us! She told him she got it free when she picked up the sutcher kit.

Brian told the nurse to take my blood pressure too. I guess he knows I'm a little stressed, and considering my bp has been up since the fall, maybe we should check. It was down to normal, which I was very happy to hear.

His secretaries brought dinner tonight. I would say that he enjoyed the visit, I know he did. He looked like he didn't quite know what to say. He razzed them a bit too, but I think he misses them so much that he couldn't hardly bring himself to be his usual self. This is one of the most difficult things for Brian to deal with, not being at school. He misses everything, all the little things...all the things he figures others complain about, he would give anything to be a part of it all.

The school made him a DVD and he is really enjoying seeing how everyone is doing. He was especially impressed with Houchin's sacrificial snow angel! Thanks to those who made this special for Brian.

This evening I came to the conclusion that indeed, his incision on his back was leaking some type of clear fluid. We've wondered what was going on for a few days, with some dampness on the back of his shirt and bedsheets. Today when the nurse took the staples out, she thought she saw a little drip of fluid. She covered it and we hoped that was it. Tonight I was repositioning him, and saw the bandaid was soaked, along with his shirt again. I removed the bandaid and saw a drip, almost like a teardrop. I went ahead and called the nurse, and she came over to check things out. She called the pain management doctor to see what he thought, and they are nearly positive it is not spinal fluid...no symptoms, incision is closed up. It is more than likely a bit of drainage, maybe the start of an infection...which hopefully won't be an issue since he's on a big gun antibiotic already. We padded the back to put pressure on this area, with hopes of stopping the dripping.

We gave the girls Guitar Hero III for the Wii for their birthdays. If you haven't tried this, you should if you ever had any secret desire to be in a rock band. Brian has found that it does take some rhythm, and he's thinking he wishes he would have been in band as a kid. Rachel was challenged to a duo tonight and won, and Amberlea is really hitting all the beats too. Rachel can do a little jump when it directs her to, but Amberlea seemed to really be rockin' when she was playing. I think the home health nurse enjoyed the entertainment! I jammed on it for a little while last night after everyone went to bed. Maybe that stress reliever is why my blood pressure was down today! You can even do half way terrible and sound pretty good!

We're hoping for another quiet week. Tye will spend a few days this weekend at the farm, and he is very excited! Brian and I might actually enjoy a quiet Valentine's Day, maybe a movie and dinner, at home, of course.

Please say extra prayers tonight for my Uncle Dave. He is on the transplant list for a kidney, and he's been really sick for the last several weeks. He is in the hospital in St. Joe, but was doing better this evening.

Many blessings for a great day,
Jenni