9th july: settled days and a belly update ⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️

9th July: so this day was filled with more eye tests, as explained I couldn't stand these. They were so invasive and it just made me squeamish, luckily it didn't take long and nothing was of concern so far.

Also today was the day he was getting his first physiotherapy session. Due to the fact that Oliver had been on morphine and other drugs for so long, he had not moved around much, this caused his muscles to deteriorate.
The physiotherapy was there to help him get into shape so to speak. The other reason for needing the physiotherapy was because of the hole in his brain. As mentioned the hole in his brain could have some effect on his mobility, so this was to assist and get an idea on what severity we were looking at.

Turns out Oliver had good strength in his arms, probably because he was always moving these.
They did find his leg muscles where a bit tight, but this was to be expected.
Oliver was getting fighting fit, and these physiotherapy sessions were going to be booked in every other day.


Skipping a few days as Oliver was doing fine regarding everything, we arrive to the 13th July: 
After a few settled days and things just being relaxed, they agreed to try his ventilation again in the next few days or so.
They was going to try today, but because he had just had all his cares done they didn't want to upset him.

14th July: Again no major concerns this morning, he was on a steady streak. Very rarely I got to sit by his side and just talk to him without getting information that would put a grey cloud over my head.

The news was, Oliver was given steroids to help strengthen his airway, ready for him to be excabated.
The hope is that the steroids will mature his airway and reduce the swelling. I had mixed emotions around this, only because I thought his airway would have been ready by now. I guess I was just holding on for hope and living in my own world of dreams.

So the plan now was to wait for a few days so the steroids done there thing and then to try then.

He was also sick once this day, this sent me into panic mode. Firstly because he had the tube in his throat and that was his breathing assistance, how would that effect him, Secondly why was he sick.

Luckily it was a one off and I was right next to him when he was, so we got him cleaned up fast. The nurse wasn't overly concerned, and his tube was cleaned with the suction. Still didn't helpe panic tho, but I should have been used to panicking now.

15th July: He is all good but he is getting a blood transfusion because his HP is low. Again settled and relaxed, no concerns.



16th July: They only got 1ml of green stuff from his tummy, and they are uping his morphine because he is a bit unsettled.
By now I wasn't used to him having such a long period of being calm and settled, don't get me wrong, but I was used to bad news. Half the battle was trying to not get myself into a false hope situation, i had been there before many times. Its so hard tho because you need to be able to enjoy the good days and hold them close and be positive, even if it does last a few days.

17th July: Back to reality, as usual going in and sitting with Oliver, the nurse stopped by. They had noticed a fair bit of discharge coming from his surgery wound.
The good news was that they had done a scan and his bowel was still working.
The only problem was his morphine wasn't doing as well as it should have been, this was due to him being on it for so long.
They did suggest for now putting a stoma bag just over the top to catch the gunk, but will discus there options soon. 
Till then I left him wrapped like a little sausage.

19th July: 115 days in nicu.
115 whole days seemed like a full life time, the rolecoster of emotions where unreal, the ups the downs the highs and the lows. I only managed it this far with the strength of my partner and the determination Oliver was going to be fine. Also the love of my daughter and the support from family was always present in my mind.

Next, another eye test with mixed results and more on his breathing, with a funny video.

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