Jake really cracked me up this morning--what a funny guy. As you have read from the last few posts, he hasn't been sleeping very well because of pain/discomfort in his legs and because he keeps getting woken up for meds, vitals, and who knows what else. All he wants to have is a good night's sleep--or even a good nap during the day--but it isn't possible. :( I knew that he would be trying to sleep in some this morning, so I went upstairs to do some laundry. He was still asleep when I got to his room afterwards. As the clock neared 9:00 a.m., I knew that he needed to get up and eat breakfast because the nurse would be in to give him more meds, PT and OT would be up early to work on him, and others would be coming in and out of his room. The tech came in to take his vitals, so I tried to wake him--boy was he NOT happy with that! He did not get angry with me, he got angry with the hospital staff for waking him again and again. And, he voiced his irritation quite loudly--he didn't care if they heard him or not. As he tried to get somewhat coherent for the tech, I went down to the cafeteria to get him and I some breakfast. When I returned to his room, he was asleep again, but this time, he had his sheet pulled up over his head and tucked tightly around his head and body so that no one could wake him!! I started laughing! Right after I got into his room, his nurse walked in and said that she needed to wake him. She tried to get the sheet off his head, but he wouldn't budge. As she was telling him that he needed to get up, he kept telling her (loudly but respectfully) to leave him alone!! The nurse had a smile on her face and said something about his grumpiness. He told her exactly why he was grumpy--don't know if she really got it or not because she was still smiling. He had to give up the fight and get up--but he was NOT in a good mood all morning until Matt came in for PT.
He wasn't happy to see Matt, at first, because of the pain in his legs--but after Matt started working on them, he was very happy to have him there. He worked Jake's legs to the point where they felt really good and not so painful anymore. He also got Jake on the side of the bed with his legs hanging down again. :) The right leg went all the way and the left leg went a bit further than yesterday. We were all thrilled!!! Jake also showed him how he can transfer to and from his wheelchair without any help at all! :) Another great step! Matt also put him in a good mood by teasing with him. I am very grateful to this physical therapist. We will really miss him when Jake goes outpatient.
Jake's occupational therapist, Jacqui, is on vacation this week so there have been others taking her place. The one he had today has set up a time tomorrow morning to assist him with transferring to a real shower stall. This shower stall is huge and has benches in it so that he can keep his legs elevated and be able to shower by himself. He does his own bathing in his bed all the time now, but this will be the first time to be in a shower since the blast. He's been expressing his desire to be able to take a real shower--that wish will be coming true. There is excitement, but also some fears due to his legs. This therapist also took us down to the therapy room and had Jake and I play air hockey (to extend the reaching length in his arms). It was a lot of fun for both of us--it was just great to get out of the room and do something fun. I took out my revenge on him for beating me at Uno and Skip-Bo the other day. Yep, I won!!! :) I told him that I would definitely be writing about that in the blog. He just smiled. :)
The rest of the day was peaceful (except for nurses/techs coming in)--we went outside to the courtyard, talked, he received more mail and a package today, and we went and visited one of the soldiers that was injured with him. That, I think, was the highlight of the day for Jake. He's been worried about all of them who were injured, so it was good for him to see him and to be able to talk to him.
Jake has great concern for those in his platoon who are still over in Afghanistan. This was even more evident today. His desire for them to be able to return home to their families is as strong as his own desire to be home with his family again. We are praying for all of them--and thinking about them constantly. Jake has told me about these men/women. I admire them, respect them, and am so very grateful for them. They are, and will forever be, heroes to me.
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