Sunday Update For Ben

I got to the hospital at 8:30 AM. Ben was asleep when I came into his room. His belly is still somewhat distended and felt a little softer to me today, but Manjit (Ben's nurse) told me she thought it felt harder today. Ben woke up a little after 9:00 AM and asked me what time it was. He's not talking because like Scott (R/T) told me, if they fix it so he can talk, then his trach leaks and he gets less air to breathe. But we are getting better and communicating with him "slowly" mouthing things to me so I can read his lips and with a paper I made for him with the alphabet on it so he can spell out words. They came in and repositioned him at 10:00 AM and we discovered that he had a very small bowel movement. I guess "little" is better than none. Hopefully this means his intestines are trying to do something. I know that his belly was making all kinds of noises today. After they were done with him, I made him do some physical therapy with me. I made him bend his knees and stretch his legs, then we worked with his arms. I had him bend his elbows and the reach his arms up over his head and hold them there for as long as he could. Then I had him push against my hands as hard as he could. He asked me if he could get out of bed and sit in a chair. I told him he couldn't but I asked if he wanted to have us fix the bed in the chair position, but he said no. He kept telling me I needed to go down to the first floor and get his clothes. Don't know why he thought his clothes were down there. I explained to him that all of his clothes are at home. Then he asked me where his wallet was with his driver's license and credit cards. I got it out of my purse and showed it to him and he wanted to see the driver's license and each credit card and then wanted to count the money in his wallet. He always worries about his belongings. I keep telling him that I have it all and that it is in a safe place. When Dr. Hu came in, I asked him why he asked me the question yesterday about a "time limit" on Ben getting well. He told me not to dwell on the question, that there is not any real answer for it. He said that he always asks patients and families this question just to see what their thoughts are. I again told him that giving up on Ben getting well is NOT even a consideration. I told him that Ben is NOT a quitter and that some days he is just a little more frustrated than other days but that I KNOW he WILL get well some day. Scott the respiratory therapist was in the room with the doctor and Scott told Dr. Hu that he sees no reason why Ben cannot be weaned from the ventilator eventually, so the doctor said that was an encouraging sign. The doctor said that he is still planning on moving Ben back to All Saints tomorrow and will try to get him over there as early as possible instead of late in the day like it usually happens. Ben started dozing off again around 12:30 PM, so I turned a baseball game on the TV for him and told him I was heading for home. He wanted to know what time I'd be back tomorrow. I told him it would be between 9:30 AM and 10:00 AM after the traffic cleared some.