Brother Reunion-and-Ode to the PICU

Toser and Tater got to see each other for the first time in 2.5 weeks last night! Toser has been asking about Tater-breaking our hearts-and yesterday we were given the all clear to bring Toser in. We tried to prep Toser with an explanation of the trach but he was all, “So?” I think the kid doesn’t know what normal is so nothing phases him. Anyway, we brought Toser in and Tater was so overwhelmed with emotion he started crying. I can’t even describe how was sweet it all was. He really has missed his big brother and I don’t think it hit him until that moment. I know it seems a little farfetched for a 10 month old to be aware of that but Tater is one sharp cookie and I have a few witnesses to the scene (only the 2 nurses and the respiratory therapist who were in here kissing on Tater, and Coco and Mr. Awesome).

Tater’s still doing well. He’s been going back and forth between BiPap and straight Oxygen. It will probably be a few days before we know exactly what he’ll need at home but if he’s on BiPap some of the time, that’s doable to us. It’s just so good to see his face without anything on it. And I can still get jaw sugar-all is well. (The trach is really good for Tater-right now he has a blanket pulled over his face, sleeping. When I just saw that my heart dropped in my chest and then I remembered, “Oh yeah, he isn’t breathing through his nose that is totally covered by a blanket.:)

So, I’ve talked about the PICU staff before, but let me tell you how really awesome they are. They are all the most amazing people. They know we struggled with the trach decision and have all been very encouraging with the hand-holding and mopping of tears thing. The Respiratory Therapists all have told us Tater’s quality of life will improve and that we’ve done the right thing. The nurses are so supportive and funny and just plain nice people. We’ve been here long enough that we feel like we KNOW these people and we love all of them. Of course, everyone assigned to Tater is our favorite and that’s only easy to say because we’ve had pretty much the same rotation of nurses and therapists. They’re all so warm and caring and great and I can not say enough about them. If I happen to (ahem) gobacktoschooltobecomeanurse, it’s because of these people (I see some of you laughing-hush).

Tater’s most consistent night nurse (okay, our true favorite-Hi P.A.M.!) brought me chocolate covered strawberries for Valentine’s. How could I not love this woman? Sure, she accuses me of “sucking up” by bringing in coffee and goodies for everyone occasionally, but what else is there to do? :) She’s ended up being a great friend and coach and neither Mr. Awesome nor I would not have made it through the last few weeks without her. Mr. Awesome has been spending most nights with Tater and I know P.A.M.!’s calm and patient teaching have been good for him. She even taught us how to suction Tater’s trach last night and never once was impatient-although it must have been excruciating for her to watch us, we were so s-l-o-w…

Everyone in the PICU works so hard and gets little to none glory. And they have been slammed. I would say that the unit has been full 90% of the time we’ve been here. A lot of the patients get rushed to the PICU, ala Tater, so they’re constantly stressed and running around. They don’t complain, always have smiles on their faces and have been great teachers to us. No one acts like we ever get on their nerves although I’m sure we have. I truly love these people. I guess part of it is that they really love Tater. It’s not unusual for me to come in and see 2 nurses and a therapist standing over Tater’s crib all trying to get him to smile. They know how manipulative he can be-yet still fall for his lip pucker and fake cry. Oh, how he eats it up! We will definitely have to reprogram him when we get home. Still, I wouldn’t want it any other way. To the PICU staff:

We Y you!