When we all arrived at the hospital this morning (bearing breakfast for Jake from Panera's), he looked okay, but not as well as yesterday. His face lit up when he saw everyone. :) I think them visiting was the highlight of his day! He informed me that through the night he became nauseous again and vomited. :( It was a rough night for him. He was hungry though and ate his breakfast. Everything seemed like it was changing for the better. He got into his wheelchair and we all went outside to his courtyard. He wanted to go out before it got really hot (which it did--in the 100's) and to spend time with the kids. As we were out there visiting and talking, he told me that his stomach wasn't feeling too well. Before I could even do anything to help, he leaned over his wheelchair and vomited again. Poor guy! :( Something is going on with his body right now and we are so confused of what is causing all of this nauseousness. Thank goodness Rick and Mary were there--they were such a great help to me and to Jake. We got him back to his room, Rick and Mary and the kids said their goodbyes, and he got back into bed. His nurse gave him some medicine to calm the nausea--it worked.
His PCA button wasn't working very well through the night either, so he was experiencing more pain in his legs. This guy can't win. :( They finally got the button working again and he starting pushing that button right away. I went upstairs to do a small load of laundry--when I got back, he was in a deep sleep again. He slept for quite awhile.
Later this afternoon, his nurse (who isn't the best nurse) mentioned to him that he looked really sleepy. Duh! Of course he is going to look sleepy! He is on a high concentration of the pain medicine! Jake replied that every time he pushes the PCA button it makes him feel like he can't keep his eyes open. His nurse asked him if he wanted him to call Jake's doctor to get the concentration lowered. Jake gave him permission to do so and told him that he was tired of feeling like this every day. Then, Jake fell asleep again. The doctor did okay the change--they cut it in half--so now it's going to be interesting to see how Jake handles the pain. They do give him oral pain medication along with the medicine in the PCA unit.
Another bright spot in his day is that there is a beautiful (almost white) yellow lab in the room next to his. His name is "Scooter" and he is a very friendly, loving dog. He looks like he could be the identical twin of a dog that one of our friends back in Vermont, the Gilbert's, have. Scooter's owner is a Major in the Air National Guard and is from North Carolina. The Major is as friendly as Scooter is! :) Scooter is an "Assistance Dog"--he helps his owner with opening doors, turning on and off lights, helping pick up items that he drops, etc. He has his own bed in the room with his food/water dishes and his toys. We hear his toenails hit the floor as he fetches his toys. Sometimes, as he is returning back to his owner's room, he stops in Jake's room (at the door entry) and wags his tail. Sometimes he looks at Jake like, "Come on out and play!" :) The Major told Jake that if he wanted to, he can play tug of war with Scooter in his wheelchair in the hallway. Apparently, Scooter loves to play tug of war and will pull Jake in his chair all the way down the hall! :) I really think Jake is hoping that he is feeling better tomorrow so that he can go out and play with the dog. :)
Before I left Jake for the night, he looked at me and told me that he is very grateful that he is alive and that he doesn't have more serious injuries. Jake has seen and has heard of the different types of injuries that soldiers have here. He also saw on the news that five more American soldiers were killed in Afghanistan. :( That news really affected him. We talked then about how lucky he really is--not just with this accident, but with the accident last Fall that almost claimed his life too. He said that he just wants to feel better so that he can work harder with his healing process and get home. He looked at me with a lot of emotion and said, "Ma, I just want to go home!" He wants to be home with his family--to have the love and support from them with his road to recovery. It is going to be a very long road, but he feels that if he is home with his loved ones, that road wont be as bumpy and difficult to travel on.
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