William’s Day of Great Improvement

That morning he was thrilled to get a breakfast taco, but he ate pickily, which is entirely unlike him. He was in good spirits, but tired. A few visitors came to see him and they brought gifts, balloons and toys for him to play with. We must have seen every professional in the hospital that morning. Some to assess his breathing, some to assess his movement, some to make sure he was still enjoying his childhood while cooped up in a hospital room. We saw a physical therapist who walked with his IV around the hall and played ball with William. He loved it and when she left, he asked to walk the loop again. The staff pediatrician made a visit too and discussed changes to that evening’s IVIG. I requested that we begin at 9pm instead of 1am so we could stay awake for the duration to avoid the middle of the night crisis of the night before. We also removed his monitors and the IV until night time. He enjoyed a special lunch (with french fries!) and then took a nice long nap for the duration of the afternoon. Doug came to swap shifts with me that afternoon and I returned with Mary and Robert for a visit. Mary was relieved to see William and know that he was getting better. I was surprised to see his improved gait and energy in the halls. He was not perfect, but he was certainly much improved even since the physical therapist saw him. Doug’s mom came to get Mary and Robert to keep them for the weekend and I left to get a good night’s sleep. Doug stayed behind to keep William company for treatment #2, which went very well, with no complications.