Dear Angel,
New news brought fresh tears as today we discovered the last few days your epidural had been leaking into the back of your cast. Now saturated, the doctor informed us not only would you have to have a new cast put on Monday morning as this one is destroyed, but most likely the epidural has done little to dull the pain since sometime following your surgery. Since the epidural required your body to be moved every two hours, the pain that shot through your small frame as your cast was rotated has taught you to despise the nurses as you grasp the rails of the crib with white knuckled hands. With the opening of the door, your eyes quickly study the person entering the room. If this person is a nurse, you cry out to them, "Don't touch me! Leave me alone!"
After discovering the epidural was not working, the decision was made to administer the meds through your IV. After a short while on the new meds, you began to feel better, asking to go for a walk. The side effect of no pain medicine has left a fear that the moving of your body will cause sever sharp pain. With each touch of your cast by someones hands, you clench the crib bars, pleading to be left alone.
To help you understand the pain is now gone, we have come up with the solution of a simple bear hug. Wrapping you in my arms and holding you close, I now move your casted body to its new location. If we must move you, the request is immediate, "Daddy, you have to hug me to keep the pain away, okay?" I guess I have always known, "hugs always help keep the pain away."
For now, what was to be three days in the hospital will become five and what was to be five weeks until cast removal will now happen on Monday as your current cast is removed and a new one will be restored to its place and as parents we now face another window of our child being placed under anesthesia as we wait for you to recover from its effects.
After discovering the epidural was not working, the decision was made to administer the meds through your IV. After a short while on the new meds, you began to feel better, asking to go for a walk. The side effect of no pain medicine has left a fear that the moving of your body will cause sever sharp pain. With each touch of your cast by someones hands, you clench the crib bars, pleading to be left alone.
To help you understand the pain is now gone, we have come up with the solution of a simple bear hug. Wrapping you in my arms and holding you close, I now move your casted body to its new location. If we must move you, the request is immediate, "Daddy, you have to hug me to keep the pain away, okay?" I guess I have always known, "hugs always help keep the pain away."
For now, what was to be three days in the hospital will become five and what was to be five weeks until cast removal will now happen on Monday as your current cast is removed and a new one will be restored to its place and as parents we now face another window of our child being placed under anesthesia as we wait for you to recover from its effects.
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