Ben had a good weekend visiting with his dad and his sister. It is these little distractions that help make time pass a bit more quickly around here. Our weekdays actually go by fairly quickly, but our weekends seem endless. However, I was able to recharge a bit this weekend and spend some time with Hannah. We went to Juliette et Chocolat and had some chocolate fondue. The hot chocolate was so yummy that we ran back the next day to bring Benjamin one.
There is really not much happening medically with Benjamin right now. We continue to put on a half pound of traction each day. Today he is at 11 pounds of traction pulling on him 24 hours a day, but he doesn’t really seem to mind it. We will continue until we reach 15 or 16 pounds, which is about half of Ben’s weight – that’s right – 32 pounds of manliness in that little body. We had a major breakthrough in sleeping last Friday. After his initial surgery where they put back anchors in, Ben did not want to put ANY pressure on his back. However, after a week and a half it seemed to be healing well, so we decided to let him try to sleep sitting upright in his bed. Previously he slept on his side, which didn’t allow him to roll or move during the night. He would often wake up in pain during the night, and we would have to medicate him. Anyways, despite his hesitation, he had an awesome night sleep on Friday when he slept upright. The next morning he said “can I sleep like that every night?”, so that’s what we do. We have also weaned him off all medications now, so it seems we are adjusting well to all forms of hospital life.
We are eagerly awaiting our friend Amber’s surgery at MCH tomorrow. She has been cancelled on twice because of an equipment failure initially, and a lack of ICU beds, which has been pretty devastating to her and her mom.
It looks sooooo Yummy ! I love chocolate fondue with fresh fruits . Hope your friend Amber will do as well as you are doing Ben . Have a good night. xxx
I bought a little can of chocolate fondue so we can have some at home.
Thanks for the update! Oh la la…the fondue au chocolat looks delicious!! What a fun way to spend the afternoon with Hannah 🙂 I’m glad to hear you’ve found something that works for Ben to sleep upright. Where do you sleep? Is there a bed for you in his room?
Bisous 😘😘
I thought of you when I was enjoying my fondue! Next time I would get it with only fruit because I found the brownies and marshmallows a bit too sweet. 🙂 We have a bench/couch thing in our room. I will throw some pics up on the blog soon – I can’t figure out how to attach them here. It is a bit firm, but comfortable enough. There is a screamer next door who robs me of a lot of sleeping opportunities!!! 🙂
Thanks for writing about all the details. I read everything you guys are posting. Keep sharing! So glad your crew got to come out and spend some time together.
Lol! It was a bit crowded here – it seems like there is a lot of equipment rolling around here.
I was wondering how Ben was sleeping. Not being able to sleep is the worst. I’m glad he has found a comfortable position. That chocolate fondue looks heavenly! What a treat for you and Hannah.
It was super yummy – I learned to ride the metro that day too, so yummy hot chocolate is only about a half an hour away!
Great up-date! So glad that things are running smoothly and Ben is more comfortable! The chocolate fondue! … well that looked just plain yummy!!! Big hugs to both of you! xx
Thanks for sharing!
So glad you had some Family Time. Does wonders for the soul.
Even if I don’t comment, know I am reading your words and appreciating them.
Without question Ben is in my thoughts and prayers as is your whole family.
For Ben to share at school…
Q. What did the paper say to the pencil?
A. Write on!