April 28th

 April 28th 

Sitting in the PICU listening to all the bleeping and buzzing puts you totally on edge, you jump every time a different noise bleeps and you worry each time.i could feel my heart beating so fast but i just wanted to be there with him. At about 7 he woke up , they told me I could hold his hands and stroke his face but I couldn't yet pick him up as he will still on a ventilator. I sung to him and stroked his face until he fell asleep again. Sam joined me at about 7:45 and we went to have breakfast in the waiting room. There were lots of other parents there all in different situations but all so positive. We got talking to a lovely couple whose daughter was in the PICU too and we saw them Every day for the whole time we were there, we nodded and waved and tried to smile at each other. 
The morning was long as we were just waiting for the doctor to come, the nurses told us that now was a good time to go home and see the kids. We wanted to be there for school pick up. It was so great to see them, we went and bought magazines and then we took them back to my parents house. 
After a few hours we said we had to go back to the hospital, I was cuddling jake goodbye and noticed spots all  on his back - he'd caught chicken pox. This meant we couldn't see them again until it had cleared up as we couldn't take it back to GOSH. 

After arriving back at the hospital we got to the PICU to see Zack without his ventilator tube, he was sitting in a bouncer with a bubble lamp on next to him. I was so glad to see him happy, this was one step closer to the end. 

The next week was all a blur, living up at GOSH, there wasn't much routine on our behalf and we were just sitting in the hospital waiting for the doctors to tell us what to do next. He was moved to the Koala ward where they looked after him with the most care, Zack loved all the nurses and would give them all this big cheesy grin when he saw them. I could see him getting better every day. We were put into our own room due to the fact that he might be carrying chicken pox. 
The nurses were just amazing, they helped bath him, Change his dressing and just be there for both him and us. 
On the 4th May we were finally allowed to go home. I was so excited to leave, but also so scared and nervous, Zack was looked after every minute of every day and now it was up to us. My brother picked us up and we carefully loaded him into the car, as if he was a new born baby. 

We arrived home, the children were so excited to see us and it was amazing to be a family of 5 again. They didn't ask too many questions about Zack as they were so excited to see him. We explained to them about how he had an operation but he was getting better.

We were so excited that things could get back to normal now and we didn't have to worry, they said they had got all the tumour and he would have another scan in 3 months time. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Gift of Platelets and Blood

  The Gift of Platelets and Blood — How It Feels to Receive a Lifesaving Donation When you hear about blood or platelet donations, it’s easy to think of it as something abstract — a noble act that helps “someone out there.” But for people like Zack, those donations are far more than a good deed. They are a lifeline. Yom tov this pesach was spent in hospital receiving platelets and blood. Zack is 2 years old and has been receiving both platelet and blood transfusions as part of his treatment.  Zack has had 14 blood transfusions and 22 platelet transfusions since August 2023  It’s hard to put into words what it’s like watching your child go through this — the fatigue, the pale skin, the shortness of breath when his red blood cells are low, or the bruising and bleeding that comes when his platelet levels drop. But even more powerful is the feeling you get when, after a transfusion, life comes back into him. Color returns to his face. His energy lifts. He smiles again. Zack k...
Read more

A Full Circle Moment: Meeting the Doctor Who Saved Zacks life.

 A Full Circle Moment: Meeting the Doctor Who Saved Zacks life. It’s funny how life works. Sometimes it’s not about the big, grand moments, but the small, intimate connections that leave an imprint on your heart. I’ve been in and out of hospitals for nearly two years now, all while watching Zack fight a health battle that none of us could have predicted. The doctors, nurses, and staff became familiar faces, but there was one person we’d never met — the doctor who diagnosed my son and saved his life. Today, I found myself sitting in a hospital room, waiting once again, when something unexpected happened: she walked in. Almost two years ago, in a sterile, white-walled office, this doctor had delivered the news that no parent ever wants to hear. But in the same breath, she also gave us hope. She was the one who identified his tumour when countless others had missed it. She was the one who told us there was a way forward, that with treatment, there was a chance for him to thrive again....
Read more

Hospitals

 A hospital room is a funny place, lots of nurses but yet so lonely ! Lots of noise yet so quiet.  We've been in and out of Great Ormond Street and Barnet Hospital so many times that you'd think I would be used to it.  Everytime they say we need to stay in my heart skips a beat and I feel deflated. I blame it on myself. Why now? Where has he been? Who has he seen?  How long will we be there for? What will I do with the other children? Will they be okay! So many questions with answers not even the professionals can answer.  I am currently in the hospital waiting for Zack to have a platelet infusion. As well as anti biotics, and all these questions go through my head at least 100 times. Zack had a scan this week, this is our third one. We wake up at 5 and head to GOSH where we are seen at seven. Zack couldn't eat from 4, so I have already woken him up in the night to feed him. By about 9 he is taken down for the scan they have put him to sleep using sedation medic...
Read more