PICU day 2

Here is me and James just before he was taken back for surgery.

James is doing really well. Last night we had only a few moments of crying. James is a fighter though. When he is hurting you better watch out because those little hands and arms start swinging. His pains meds seem to give him a good 2 hours of solid rest and after that he starts to itch and get irritable. We are working on the right doses to give him longer pain control.

I cant say enough about the nurses here in the PICU, and I am sure we will get just as good of care when they move James to the Neuro-Surgical floor this afternoon. Last night I looked at James and I couldn't imagine him being ready to be moved to the neuro floor, but this morning I really do see good improvement and think he will be ready. So since he is doing well and the scary stuff is hopefully all behind us. I am going to talk about the exciting things now! Like what we can already see in improvements.

James has to be flat on his back until Sunday so I am sure we will see even more exciting things as the days progress. But even with his limited movement we can see changes. He can relax his legs open for one! Right now he is laying with one leg bent and the other straight. This is a position that I have NEVER seen before!! Last night the nurses came in to check him and they lifted up his covers and asked him to wiggle his toes. I found myself wanting to tell him that he can do that....... But guess what?? James wiggled those little piggies like a champ.

I think my husband Josh said it best. " When you have a "special needs" child you think you are going to miss so many of those magical milestones, but really God just give you an extra chance to be witness to even more important milestones. In his 2.5 years of life James has never been able to wiggle his toes but we witnessed it for the first time last night!"

Those little moments are so important because they let us know that we made the right decision for James. James can also raise his arms above his head and sleep. We have never seen this before. I watched him try to get up and he lifted both knees up and his head. I think I had to pick my jaw up from the floor. I am amazed by James everyday. He is such a trooper and a fighter. He might come out from anesthesia swinging but he has such a fighting spirit and I am so proud to be called his Mommy!