Perspective

Since its late I will post the afternoon details of Day 1 tomorrow morning (well it already is morning so later today).

Sam's obstacle today was the fact that after they took out his catheter he hasn't been able to pee on his own. This is very common after being fully cathed as your sphincter can swell up and cause you to feel like you want to relieve yourself but you can never actually do it. Or your sphincter can become "lazy" and need a little nudges to get going on its own. In the meantime if its been 6 hours without urination you are forced to get a straight catheter. This has upset Sam quiet a bit today since unfortunately it happened twice.

While Sam was getting all upset over this SMALL hurdle in his life right now... i decided to give him a little perspective from what I have seen lately. I told him to turn and look at the clock in his room and tell me the time. It was about 10pm. I told him at this time yesterday you had just gotten your chest tubes out and were able to say your first words after surgery.....You have walked 3 times today and been upright in a chair most of today....there is a man down the hall who is having an emergency procedure in his room.....there is a family in the lobby whom I met tonight whose husband/father was air lifted from Petosky, MI for a heart transplant tonight...and not to forget we witnessed a family last night receive some tragic news....so if this peeing issue is his BIGGEST problem right now then I am THRILLED....it could be a lot worse. I wasn't all badass mean and said of course its easier for me to say this to you but despite the pain to please think about all of the other things happening in the ICU of the Cardiac Center and then tell me if this is really a terrible issue to have right now...

needless to say it sucked to do it again for him but i know a week from now this won't be what he remembers from being here...I will continue to show him the positive things and make sure he stays grounded. It has been a real eye opener what you see in an ICU let alone a cardiac one...I am very thankful for everything we have in life and cherish everything just a bit more tonight and will continue to.....

goodnight!