Lots of reasons to smile today as our strong baby boy has done so well in the last 48hrs. He had started to show signs of waking yesterday but nothing could prepare us for seeing him wake up properly this afternoon. We were told by the nurses when we got to the hospital that he had been awake a couple of times in the morning but when we got there at lunchtime he was sound asleep just as he has been for over a week. After about an hour there, and with no warning Patrick woke up! It was magic to see him open his big blue eyes and look right at us. He looks so much better than he did 2 days ago, we are really thrilled with the progress he is making. Not only did our baby wake up today which was enough to cheer us up, but at 2 o'clock, his Dr decided he was strong enough to take him off the ventilator! He is now awake and breathing for himself and has had no physical fits in the last 48hrs.
I was able to to give Patrick a proper cuddle this afternoon, without the restrictions that all the tubes and wires bring, I was able to hold him right in close and sit him up, pat his back and give him lots of kisses! What's brilliant as well is that his physiotherapist has said that cuddles are really good for his recovery so to give him lots.
When they first took him off the ventilator they gave him an oxygen mask but by 5pm they took that away as well as he was doing so well. He stayed awake for hours while I washed him and changed him (the lactulose finally seems to be working!), he's still a little spacey but that's not surprising with the amount of drugs he's on. He's able to follow you with his eyes and responds well to sounds as well which is good. He's still got a bit of a dodgy chest so was coughing a lot and continuously dribbling but they use a long suction tube down his throat to clear him out and they also gave him a nebuliser for a little while to help him get comfortable enough to sleep.
Dr Thomas came round briefly this afternoon as was also really pleased that he seems to be responding well to the treatment. We probably won't get a clear picture of just how well he's doing until the end of the week when he will hopefully get another EEG but all the signs are encouraging.
I've just had a fright as the phone rang and I saw the hospital number come up, it was just his nurse Fran phoning to say she's just starting her shift and can't believe how well he looks and how great he's doing! The staff are as excited and as pleased as we are at his progress which is great. He's getting quite a following now as the nurses in every ward he's been on are all phoning for up-dates, even the nurses at Poole hospital have phoned several times to check on his progress.
Another thing that Fran just mentioned is that tomorrow I might be able to feed him! They're probably going to turn off his feeding tube for a few hours to make him hungry and see how he reacts and whether he can feed properly. I can't wait!
Well, it's been a long and emotional day and no doubt now that Patrick is not in a permanent slumber and we can do a lot more for him, the days ahead will be even longer and more hectic. So, I am going to do the sensible thing and get an early night, hopefully I'll sleep a lot better knowing that at the moment, things are looking up.
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