Riley Update

The surgery went just as expected - taking four hours instead of six. The hospital stay went as the expected four days. We came home yesterday.

Some highlights....
*It's always amazing to encounter other families at a children's hospital and hear their stories. It was a privilege to pray for another boy who had a tumor removed that day. They weren't sure they could save his vocal chords. We prayed - and God answered. The tumor wasn't even in the vocal chords!!
*I met another mom whose son has the same issues as Riley - but many more issues as well. He is only one year old, and they are at the hospital every month. She has an amazing ministry to other families. I had prayed for weeks about how I could minister to other families, but could hardly get out of Riley's room. She sought me out offering to get me breakfast, asking if she could help. Such a sweetie!
*When tucking Riley in to hopefully go to sleep the first night, I asked if he wanted to say prayers. He said, "I've *been* praying!" :D
*Another friend shared that her son prayed that Riley would "just stay crazy!" Kids are so wonderful!
*I got to watch Emeril and Rachel Ray cook and got way toooo hungry watching - eating every bag of chex mix and cracker pack in sight.

I had planned on using my dad's laptop to work on book stuff, but never had the chance to worry about it.

So we're home. The recovery will be harder than I expected. It's like having a newborn, and he is in so much pain. Every trip to the bathroom results in 20-30 minutes of straight, inconsolable screaming. The pain meds require him to be hydrated, so the bathroom trips are frequent. When he feels good, he feels good and plays with his brothers and colors and uses silly putty, etc. But when he cycles to bad - it's bad! The time between quieting him down and the next bathroom trip is short. In that time I work on laundry, dishes, sticky floors, the vomit in the bathroom from the nauseating meds, and requests from other kids like, "Mommy, I want to play a game with just you. He gets you more than we."

Today, I feel quiet a bit better. I believe Riley only got up twice las night. It helps to get a little sleep. Yesterday, everything in life felt wrong. I'm not saying it all feels right today, but sleep does make everything seem a little better. I honestly don't know how our marriage survived my post-partum sleep deprivation. I'm such a bear!