Pals with Paws

Thursday, October 29, Andrew took a trip to radiology for x-rays of his spine. Everything looked great. Then they had to insert a new pic line because he pulled it out last night. He has become quite the hand full. Patient who are in the icu for long periods of time can go through several things. There is an icu narcosis and sundowners (getting night and day mixed up). So he is going through both and withdrawal from the meds. Today he sat in a chair two times. I asked him to squeeze my hands as tight as he could. Ouch! He is really strong. Randall also had him us his own strength to stand up while supporting him. As I was entering the icu I noticed a lady who had a dog. At this hospital, they allow certain dogs to visit the children. So I asked her if she'd let Andrew see the dog. Andrew was in the chair, so we put a cover on the bed and let the dog jump up. The dog was so calm and gentle. He set his paw in Andrew's hand. Andrew loved it! A little later, another dog came through the icu. It was a giant poodle. It had a mohawk that was painted pink. It went over and licked Andrew's hand. It is amazing how dogs can comfort and make someone happy. People just volunteer their time. Corinne, Desire, and Kristin came to see Andrew. He wanted to know where Uncle Jo was. As we walked through the lobby we ran into Elder Dennis B. Neuenschwander, of the Seventy. Elder Neuenschwander was donating several boxes of stuff animals that his wife had purchased in Germany. We chatted with him for a minute and he gave us an animal for Andrew. It was an animal that they often see in Germany. As the sun went down, Andrew said, "unchain me I want to go sleep with mom." At sunset, Andrew tends to get even more agitated. So I laid next to him to calm him. It seemed to work. Ariel was able to assist the nurse from wound care in cleaning and changing his dressings. Aaron, Kortny, John and Matt are with him now. Sometimes they enforce the two visitors rule and other times we sneak by. John did the "flying bird" demonstration for Andrew. He laughed. The third time he said, "John, you've gained weight." They told him they were leaving so he whispered to them, "don't leave, they try to tie me to the chair!" So he says some funny things. Today they took us on a tour of the NTU, his next unit. They have a nice gym, spa, and very nice rooms. One thing that I have noticed since being here is that everyday people drop quilts off. People from the valley donate quilts for the children. As Andrew went to x-ray, he didn't have a cover. A lady walked by and gave him a blue fleece blanket. It really meant a lot to him. We have decided that Andrew's eagle project will be for PCMC.