March 11-12, 2021 "Wound vac change #11"

March 11, 2021 (Day 56 in the hospital)

Rayden has worn me out today! He made some sweet little friends. There's a little 5 year old boy and a little girl. The boy was riding a tricycle, the girl on a car shaped wagon and Rayden with his walker. They were all racing down the hall the entire unit. The laughter just filled the air and people came out of their rooms to watch. The children started waving like they were in a parade. Rayden kept up with them but got tired about the 5th lap. Then he got into a wagon and the racing and yelling resumed! This would have continued all day but the parents got tired long before the kids, haha! 

We were not able to go to the terrace today but I did take Rayden to the courtyard for some sunshine. I got smart and pulled him AND his wound vac in the wagon this time. It was much easier than pushing the wheelchair and the wound vac separately. 

Monica brought Rayden a new Batman balloon and Andrew, the science guy, brought him a Wonder Connection shirt. 

March 12, 2021 (Day 57 in the hospital)-11th wound vac change

Another wound vac change in the books. Rayden's skin was very sensitive to the tape this morning so it hurt pretty badly when they were removing it. As soon as it was all off he was back to his playful self. You can see a significant improvement in the wound today. The white AlloDerm is actually looking pink from all the tissue taking over. We are almost there! 

We met with Mrs. Bergman, Rayden's hospital teacher this morning soon after the wound vac change. She is so creative and does a great job keeping his attention over a computer screen. He is beginning to enjoy his time with her. His science activity today was searching for sharks teeth in a bowl of sand and examining them with a magnifying glass. She used that activity to have him sort, count, and describe the teeth, etc. She asked him numerous thinking questions like, "Why do you think some teeth are black and others are white?" or "How many teeth do you think a shark has?" He was so engaged and loved it. 

We went outside on the terrace for our playtime today. Rayden and I enjoyed the sunshine, cool breeze and watching the helicopter land again. We also took a wagon ride out to the courtyard for another picnic lunch. We are trying to make the best out of our situation. I just keep reminding myself that this is one-on-one quality time that we will never get back. One day he will be grown, like his brothers, and will not have time to just sit outside and talk or have a picnic with momma. 

Rayden had a wonderful face time visit with friends from school today as well. He showed them all how his dog, Pootles, works. They sure thought that was funny. He also showed them his UNC badge and all the things attached to it. I showed them around our room. When they saw our view out the window one of the kids said, "You're in the big city!" I hate that Rayden has missed so much time with his friends and school that he can't get back.