Sunday, July 4, 2010

Each day is a bonus

Last Friday Richard stayed home from school as he was running a fever. We thought it was due to some mild virus. At noon, he started trying to regurgitate/ vomit but nothing came out from his mouth. Colour drained from his face, he floated in and out of consciousness. We quickly removed the ABR strap which was strapped around his abdomen and rushed him to hospital. On the way there, in the car, he regained consciousness and passed motion. He seemed to be feeling better although he was still unwell. Debating whether to head to A+E or home, we decided to return home.
We fed him a little food but he wasn't in the mood to eat and as his swallowing isn't strong, we let him drink milk in place of his usual pureed meal so that he could take in some panadol.
Our care-giver administered reflexology throughout the afternoon til warmth in his feet came back and his colour improved.
Dinner time came and we fed him his pureed food but he couldn't hold it down and vomitted the whole lot. Again, we decided to rush him to A+E as he wasn't breathing well. And again in the car, on the way there, he opened his eyes and seemed to feel better. That was already ~8pm and once again we headed home.
This episode just brings back memories of how we lived on the edge not too long ago, always watching him 24/7, checking if he was still breathing...we are reminded that Richard's still so fragile. We sometimes forget that he's very vulnerable and frail eventhough he's progressed and healed so much these past 6 years.
Every 'episode' that we encounter where he struggles for life, reminds us that each day Richard is here with us, is indeed a bonus. We learn to appreciate and cherish the extra time given.