Day 21 - July 22

A day down memory lane.  This morning, as I arrived at Jake's room, the scene I saw took me back many years to when the kids were little and I would go in and check on them at night before heading to bed.  They would be sleeping so peacefully and so soundly.  Jake did not even stir when I walked into the room. :)  In fact, he didn't stir until almost 2 hours after I arrived there!  I was sooooooo happy to see him in such a deep and peaceful sleep.  He really deserved it.

The morning went pretty well.  Matt (physical therapist) came in and decided to work on Jake's legs while he was in bed.  He did not want to have Jake in the wheelchair today because he was still having some bouts with being lightheaded and nauseous.  Jacqui (occupational therapist) also came in to see him.  She wanted to take him down to the therapy room to work on things that he needs to do before being discharged but didn't because of how he was feeling. They just talked and laughed quite a bit.  This was the first time that I have really seen him bust out laughing and smiling so much since we've been here.  It was a beautiful sight to see!! :)

We are still trying to figure out what is causing Jake to feel so ill.  We think that we have come up with a possible reason.  The pain management team started Jake on a new oral pain medication yesterday and these symptoms started yesterday.  Jake is going to bring this up with his doctors in the morning when they come see him.  His nurses also put notes in Jake's about how he's been feeling so that the doctors can read it.

He received more visitors today--the Chief Warrant Officer of the Vermont National Guard and another Captain that was in the same deployment as Jake but in a different area in Afghanistan.  The captain, his wife, and son are staying in the same hotel as I am and he was a patient here at Walter Reed in April.  He is still on outpatient here and is trying to get back home to Vermont.  It was wonderful to see them all and to talk.  The Captain and his wife were a great help in answering some questions we had about paper work.  Jake also received some great phone calls from fellow soldiers/friends back with the 131st Engineers in Vermont.  These phone calls really cheered him up and put a smile on his face.  As his mom, I really appreciate these men calling Jake, checking up on him, and making him smile and laugh. Thank you.

The day ended with another trip down memory lane with taking care of the kids when they were sick with the stomach bug--leaving gingerale and saltine crackers by Jake's bedside.