Friday - We are out of ICU

Last night at about 9pm we moved out of ICU, it was lovely to say goodbye to that stage of the journey. Toren was excited and this morning he is sitting up in his recliner, already having eaten a full breakfast, albeit pureed. He is speaking a little more, and physically much stronger than yesterday. Last night Toren got at least 3.5 hours sleep straight. This is a first since he came off sedation, it was wonderful, and I can see the benefit in his energy this morning. He was delighted to hear Helaini's voice on the phone last night.n He is busy fussing with a fiddle toy on his lap as I write, stopping from time to time to shine me one of his brilliant smiles. I am confident with rest, patience, pt, ot and speech therapy Toren will be make his way back to good health. The new medication is slowly reaching therapeutic levels. The MRI shows no significant change from before, which is such a relief. The last 5 days have been an incredible roller coaster ride, but we made it through. Help from those who love us in these roughest times has kept us going, whether it was soup and clean clothes, or Marvin & Helaini taking a few nights of hospital shift so I could sleep across the street in the Hotel, coaching on the phone, emails that keep us connected... every piece has made the world of difference, reducing the sense of isolation and keeping me grounded and hopeful. My mum made it safely to the airport for her trip to the UK, thanks to Marvin who happily took her down to Newark, and our community really gathered around us and gave her rides back and forth to the hospital before she left.
Last night when I couldn't sleep I started to count blessings... out loud to Toren... we got well past 100 before finally drifting off to sleep.
If you are reading this, please trust that you were on the list. Years ago I had a practice of writing down 3 wonderful things that happened each day... These days, even on the darkest days I am struck by the abundance of blessings in our lives. Friends, gifted nurses, strong will, determination, loving family, cell phones, blogs, wi-fi at the hospital, clean sheets, king sized beds, whirlpools, swimming pools, morning coffee, grapefruit juice and water, fiddle toys, cartoons on TV, Patient Care people, recliners in hospital rooms, daughters, sons, mothers, in-laws, parks, books, clean clothes, hot water in the shower, lap tops, time with son, hearing the words I love you, saying the words I love you... the list is endless. For me it comes back again and again to choosing how I look at the world.
I hope as Toren recovers he can retain his willingness to see that which is good, to count the days ahead, however challenging as a gift, and I hope I can acknowledge his need to explore the darkness with equal grace.