The nurses had told us that Chri was having nightmares, and so we decided that we would stay overnight with him so that someone familiar would be there in case he woke up, and hopefully that would help him to calm down.

I could stay, and so I did.

 Mom and Dad and I went up to see him around 9:30pm tht night, and he was mostly just sleeping, which after having a few hard nights, we figured was a good thing.  Mom and Dad stayed until after 1am, and then went home to get some sleep.

I settled down in a corner of his room with a book, but couldn’t really get settled myself, so mostly I just watched his monitor.  It was riviting, especially after 3 or 4 hours of looking at the same thing.  His numbers mostly just stayed consistant, but it looked like he was cycling though something (maybe sleep cycles), as his numbers would all slowly drop a bit (nothing to be concerned about) and then come up to where they had been.  I did wonder about it at first, but after about the 20th time of it doing this I just assumed it to be “normal.”

He slept solid even through the nurse coming in to take his temperature and check his other signs. 

About 3:45am, he started to stir, and I jumped up, and held his hand and said that is was okay, and that I was there and that he could just go back to sleep.

He closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep within 2 minutes.

Between 4 and 4:30am, his IV alarm started going off ’cause his antibiotics IV had run out.  I could see by watching his monitor that his heart rate was starting to coming up, which looked like to me that he was slowly waking up every time it beeped.  I wanted to shut if off, so that he’d stay sleeping, but wasn’t sure what to do.

The nurse wsn’t right there, and when I found someone, it was too late.  He was awake.

He seemed to me like he was in a ton of pain, and was pulling up with his left shoulder, and reaching with his right hand to get at his left arm.  His face looked all twisted up with pain, and as it took longer and longer for the nurse to get him the pain meds, it seemed like his ability to handle the pain decreased.  He was banging against my open hand with his open hand, the same way that you would try to bang your hand or stompo your foot if you hurt yourself and were jut trying to make it through the painful moment.  I told him to squeeze my hand tightly if he needed something to squish, and he did, but much the same way as he was banging against it.  He’d squish and then release, and then squish and then release and then squish and then release than then go back to banging again, and then go back to squishing.  It took a while for his nurse to come back, and at that point, he just couldn’t handle it.  She told him that he’d just had a nightmare, but I don’t believe that at all.  “personl opinion” When she went away to get him some medicine to “calm” him down, he motioned for a pen, and wrote me a note on a paper.  I asked him if he was scared, and he said, “no”.

He was almost crying, and that was so hard to see, and it looked like he was begging me with his eyes to help him. 

“personl opinion again”  I think that he had just gone too long between medicine doses, and when he woke it, he just couldn’t handl the pain.  He didn’t seem to be fearful or scared at all, just badly hurting.  He wasn’t “out of it” if anything he was way too aware of what he was feeling. 

After he was given the “calming” meds, he appeared to be knocked out, but “personal opinion inserted here” I don’t think he really slept.  His heart rate was up higher than it had been in the night, and he kept his eyes open sightly and would move his eyes around,a nd then close them for a bit, and then open them slighty again.  It seemed more like he was “resting” in a drugged state than actually sleeping soundly. 

Can you please pray that

1. They (medical community) would be able to really asses what is going with Chris, and not just guess at what they think thigns could be.
2. Chris wouldn’t be too frustrated by what we are able to or not able to understand what he is trying to communicate and that he would be able to communicate what he needs and wants, and that someone would be willing to listen and to really figure out what he needs.
3. Pray that they would be able to figure out a pain management system that would work well for Chris.
4. Pray against the pain and infection.
5. Pray that he would be able to get into the OR this weekend
6. Pray for Nina (She is doing amazing, but can always use more prayers.)
7. Pray for Mom and Dad (it’s so hard to see your baby hurt and to have nothing that you can do to make it better)
8. Pray that they are able to get a Doctor who will oversee Chris’s case, and be able to be in contact with the family and who will really care about Chris. (He is being cared for, but doesn’t have a family doctor who has priviledges in VGH who can be overseeing everything and talking with the family about what’s going on.)
9. Pray for Perfect Peace that passes all understanding for everyone.
10. And pray for whatever God shows youto pray about.

I’ll put up any new updates as I get them. 

Thanks again for all your love, prayers and support. 

Please feel free to type in a comment to Chris (a note or letter that we’ll print off and take in a read to him).  Sometimes we run out of things to say (that aren’t completely boring to him) and it’s nice to be able to take him a letter from someone who is “outside” of the whole situation.  Thanks!