Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Oprah

Twenty five years ago I was still considered "a spring chicken". I had little thought about special needs children, struggles in life, or Oprah Winfrey. I would half heartily watch her show with my beloved grandparents who raised me from fourteen on. They would turn her show on ritually, and I would lay my head down on the dust filled textile pillows my grandmother kept. I would watch the beginnings of Oprah, who was a mega super star in the making. Even at a young age I remember being intrigued at the fact that Oprah didn't focus on superstars, but rather everyday normal people. As the years passed by it seemed Oprah grew, and so did I. Rather than being made to watch her show, I wanted to watch Oprah, I even recorded her show everyday. I was interested in the amazing people Oprah had on her show, and the inspiring tales I heard. I believe one of the reasons I am able to be so strong today is because of the hope so many people had on the Oprah's show. Her show was full of many life lessons. I hate to see her show come to an end, but I am sure that twenty five years later.... the girl needs a vacay! Thank you Oprah for all the amazing inspiration you have provided me. Thank you for teaching me about the proper path to follow. I listened!

Tonight, I sent Mike to the store, and while he was gone Emily, and I gave Jude his medications, and his normal feeding. We also ran a flush of 130 MLs of water. Jude is now soundly sleeping, and I hope he will be the rest of the night. I was so happy to give Mike a break, and I think I did everything correctly. I took the stethoscope, and listened for the "bubble" in Jude's tummy from the air I pushed down the tube from the syringe. Once I heard the "pufffff", I inserted the medication trough the medication port. From there I primed the pump, and then inserted the feed tube into it's port to put the need nutrition into Jude's body. Jude was a wiggle worm tonight, but he got the full feed in prior to bed time. We learned to leave him sitting in the same position for at least an hour prior to moving him, or he will throw up.

Emily, and I also sang several songs to Jude, and I talked to him in detail about every action I took. I even noticed that Jude followed me with his eyes from one side of the living room to the other, and that is just flat out amazing!!!! I praised Jude for his good work, and I hope to see it again.

2 comments:

sarah said...

are you starting to feel the sense of accomplishment and pride that I was telling you about? I get such a warm fuzzy feeling when I do something medical without really thinking about it ( changing the moleskin on a body cast, diapering a child who is in one. etc)...or when I calmly deal with a situation that would have previously sent us to the ER for hours ( hubby waking up having focal seizures).

I think that now Jude is getting the needed nutrition without a struggle, you will see all kinds of good things happening with him. Getting the feeding tube is going to end up being an amazing thing, and in a few months you and Mike are going to look back and wonder why the heck you struggled so long to feed Jude orally. With the added nutrition, I think you will see the little milestones happening more often.

Kim said...

I knew you would learn to manage that NG tube in no time. Also, Jude looked so comfy on his wedge pillow, I decided to try one for my daughter, she loves it! Thanks for the idea. Wishing you and Jude continued happiness and good health.
With prayer, Kim