Amazing Madelyn Grace: Laughter is the best medicine.

Hello and happy Monday! Here’s how the day went:

Dad got to stay the night at the hospital with Madelyn; her night nurse said that she is willing to let us do what we need to help her heal the best she can, and one way she will heal better is if we’re able to stay with her at night. Dad is back there tonight and we will probably start a rotation of hospital slumber parties.

She was awake when mom got to the hospital and refused to eat breakfast and I don’t blame her. Today was some mushy french toast, grits, eggs and a sausage and gravy puree. Mom and I got some guest meals delivered her meal. She saw the sausage patty and said she wished that she could have some sausage, and when I told her that’s what the mush was her eyes got big.

She had OT and PT and they massaged her hands and gave her some compression gloves which she liked. She didn’t like them stretching her hands, but was convinced that it had to be done.

She got up and walked with a walker and did that very well. She mentioned wanting to do that this morning when I was there, but we have to wait for PT to come and help her. She got back in the bed and it was set up like a chair and stayed there for a while.

We tried to get off the oxygen a little bit, but that made her nervous. She had a great afternoon where she was awake and carrying on conversation!

They didn’t bring in her lunch tray because they knew she wouldn’t eat it. Miss Terri made her a strawberry shortcake milkshake that she took several sips of until she was full.

They started the tube feedings again tonight and they will continue that for 12 hours because she’s not eating and not getting the nutrients that she needs to heal. She wasn’t very happy about that but she understands it is necessary.  Dad did bring her some cheesy rice from Mi Cocina in hopes that she would eat that. He also went and purchased a baby ninja blender and we chopped up the rice and cheese and she ate a few bites of it.

Mom read her lots and lots of cards and mail that she got at the hospital. She loved them all and said “how sweet” in her Madelyn way after almost every one of them. Her voice is still a whisper but with time and speech therapy we will soon be able to hear her full voice again. For now, we’re just glad for the whisper that we couldn’t even get when she was on the vent.

Overall, she had a good day! Her and I had some laughs this morning about how her food is pretty nasty, which then prompted mom to scold me about how I shouldn’t say bad things about her food in front of her, but the proof is in the pudding. Or, in this case, the sausage and gravy blended special. I was also scolded by Madelyn after blowing my nose because she struggles being able to do that with her hands and her nose burns. Mad has been upset at me for a lot of things, but being able to blow my nose better is one I never thought I’d see.

Anyway, chat with y’all tomorrow!

Psalm 118:23 - This is the Lord’s doing; It is marvelous in our eyes.