Aack. So I take a few days off from blogging and now I have too much to report. The sun is shining and I am just chomping at the bit for Liam to finish his nap so that we can go outside and play. Initially I had a great plan involving kite flying planned for the afternoon (inspired by this thoughtful and fun blog post.) but failed to plan ahead and get the necessary equipment. Namely, the kite itself. I'd love to run out and buy one now but I promised Karin that she could nap while he napped so I don't want to bother her. Ah well, the warm weather is just starting and there will be other days for high flying fun. I suspect we'll go walking around the graveyard again as soon as Liam wakes up.
We all had a very nice weekend. On Saturday I was asked to take part in my cousin's Eagle Scout Court of Honor which made me very proud and gave me a chance to hang out with my dad for a few hours during the 2 hour drive out to Springfield. It's the farthest from Liam I have ever been since he was born. As we got about 45 minutes away, I started to get a very uneasy and unsettled feeling in the pit of my stomach. Even while I am at work I am only minutes away and can rush home to help in case of any emergency. Not really the case when you start getting further and further away. At about the hour and a half mark a realization washed over me that at that point no matter what happened Liam and his Mom would be on their own. No matter how serious, there was nothing that I would be able to do to help the situation. I usually get very frustrated when there is something that I can't help with. I'm a fixer. I need to be able to control the situation. Even when we had to call 911 to take Liam to the hospital last October I was telling each of the EMT's what to do and where to go, a situation I'm sure they appreciated by the eye rolling and attitude I received. There is only one other person on this earth who knows how to take care of any emergency with Liam. That is of course, his mom. Liam has seen dozens of doctors and easily more than a hundred different nurses in his short lifetime but unless we are talking about major surgery only is mom and I can take care of him. At the point of no return I realized that it was all up to Mom. She would have to do it without me, and somehow that calmed me. Since there was nothing I could do from so far away it freed me up to simply enjoy the afternoon. Had I been closer to home I would have been constantly thinking about rushing home to help out but in this case I could just enjoy the ceremony.
After about 4 hours though, that sense of calm wore off and it was time to get home as quick as I could. I missed him and being so far away started to again weigh me down. It can be frustrating that Karin and I cannot simply call over a babysitter and take off for a few hours together but I don't think either of us really want that to happen. The only way that either of us can be comfortable leaving him at all is when we know that the other is with him. While I did have a fun afternoon that day I think I'll be staying somewhat closer to Liam for the foreseeable future.
On Sunday Karin's parents came up from NJ for a visit and we all had a great day of watching college basketball while Grammy and Opa took turns holding Liam. Hopefully sometime over the summer Karin and I will be able to work out some kind of arrangement with our oxygen supplier to make a short visit down to New Jersey so that Liam can meet his cousin and visit his grandparent's house. We'll see.
Monday was marked by an appointment with Liam's Neurologist that went exceptionally well. Karin and I are unbelievably lucky that we have been able to surround Liam with some of the best and brightest specialists in the northeast. Dr. G. is a leader in his field with a specialty in the same brain disorder that Liam is diagnosed with. Liam did very well at the appointment behaving very well for his neurological exam and showing Dr. G. how much progress he has made. After the appointment was over Liam and Karin walked over to my office to meet some of my staff and co-workers who have waited so patiently to meet the baby they have heard so much about.
Yesterday was a day of rest and then today we had another appointment with a whole other set of doctors and a hearing assessment that was inconclusive. Gotta love putting your kid through a whole bunch of uncomfortable positions only to be told that no results were gotten. Awesome. In true Liam fashion we'll have to go for a bunch more tests including another hearing test that he'll be sedated for. We have a couple of procedures upcoming so we are trying to have two of them done at once t minimize how many times he needs to go under anesthesia. Coordinating doctors though is just a bit more difficult than herding cats though so I'm not holding my breath.
Well Liam has woken up and needs a change. Once I get that done its time for this boy to get a healthy dose of vitamin D. The beautiful weather outside is calling and he's been couped up in this house for far too many months. Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone, now go out and enjoy the weather before I beat you with my shillelagh.
No comments:
Post a Comment