May 27, 2010

A DAY TO REMEMBER!

We woke this morning to quite a surprise, and it was just what the doctor ordered. Literally. We almost had to pinch ourselves to see if it were really true! Garrett's cardio team decided that he needed a break. They informed him that he would have to go through another round of plasmapheresis plus another one-hour infusion, then if he were feeling ok, they'd let him go to the ball game! Unbelievable!!

Blood tests this morning showed that his electrolyte levels were still a little off, but much better than yesterday. Garrett was feeling better this morning and he was motivated now to stay feeling better for the day. The doctors told us that they conferred and felt that Garrett's morale had taken too many hits lately. In their combined opinion, the benefits of waiting another day for more infusions and having a day away outweighed the risks. It was a beautiful day and if we handled it properly, a trip to Coors Field would be not much different than taking him outside on the hospital lawn for some fresh air.

By 2pm Garrett was done with all his work for the day and they removed the neck line. They put a pressure bandage on the wound, wrapped up the IV in his arm (because we’ll need it again tomorrow) and after another dose of electrolytes gave us an R&R pass for the day. They gave us a "to do" list to ensure a safe day, made sure we had all the emergency phone numbers we needed, and sent us on our way. We put him in a wheelchair, mask and his Rockies jersey and headed for the park. We didn’t get there until the bottom of the 6th inning, but as it turns out that was about perfect. He looked pretty rough, but you couldn't knock the smile off of his face with a sledge hammer.

The ushers hid the wheelchair and I helped him down the stairs to our magical location. After sterilizing the seats, he got to see the 7th and 8th from behind home plate, but by then the sun had taken his steam. We moved into the shade for the top of the 9th and the game was over. It was a short game for us but it did more for his self-esteem than anything has lately. Having this come one day after his buddy, former Major League great Tom Urbani came to visit him and he’s been in hog heaven today.

Here comes the icing on the cake. They let Garrett stay with us at the motel tonight! We’re close to the hospital so they’re ok with it. This is the first time all of us have been in the same place, all by ourselves, since this leg of the journey began at the first of April. Happiness abounds tonight.

Tell me God doesn’t answer the prayers of wounded warriors! Just yesterday we were praying for a little tranquility in Garrett’s life and were amazed by this tremendous gift the doctors let us have today. Tomorrow brings another day of work at the hospital, but we’ll all be a little more rested and rejuvenated. We don’t have to be there until 9am, but Garrett will have to undergo about 8 hours of infusions with a new med. It’ll be a tough day, but we’re more ready for it now.

I’m closing tonight with a scripture passage put on Garrett’s hospital wall by one of his nurses. Today, it read so true, to so many.

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven. “ Matt 5:16

We will continue to try our best to do just that.

God bless,

JD