The Road To Recovery

An Unknown amount of miles awaits.

Today marks the 9th day since the dreadful auto accident involving my son. Though it has been only nine days, it feels as though this is all I've ever done. Trudge the miles of corridors at the hospital, eat the infamous hospital cafeteria food, and sit for hours on end staring at the lifeless body that until this happened, was so full of vigorous activity. How many more miles will there be? It doesn't matter in the end. I would walk to the moon and back a thousand times. I will walk these halls until there is no more need.

The road itself is full of wide curves and hairpin turns. It seems there is seldom a straight, smooth stretch, though I know those must be coming. There are potholes aplenty and soft shoulders to be wary of. Sometimes the road passes with dizzying speed and other times it crawls by painfully slow. I am not the driver. I am not in control.

The Road Map Of Uncertainty

The first few days spent bedside, went by without the realization of time passing. Doctors and nurses came and went,speaking all the while in soft, efficient tones. Occasionally I would be hustled out of the room, and during those times I would use the restroom and grab a cup of coffee if I remembered to do so.

When he was admitted to the trauma unit, he had less than 20% chance of survival. During an emergency surgery to determine the cause of internal bleeding, it was discovered that he had a torn colon. A colon resection was in order. They chose not to reconnect the colon nor close the incision, to see if the bleeding had been resolved. At that point, his chances were raised to 30% survival. The following Sunday, the 27th, he was again taken to surgery and the colon was reconnected. His chances went to 80%. That's where we sit today.

An Unknown Destination

From where we were at the beginning, to where we are today, has been a journey of uncertainty and anguish. A journey of untold miles. A journey of perils and fear the likes of which I have never before experienced. Most of the critical organs are functioning or are expected to function properly very soon. The dialysis port has been removed as there is no further need for it. Two of three chest tubes have been removed with the third possibly taken out this afternoon. A feeding tube will be inserted thru the nose this afternoon. He has been without nourishment for 9 days now and they want to see how his stomach will tolerate it.

A tracheostomy is scheduled for today. This will allow the ventilator tubes to be taken out of the mouth and connected through the neck. He will then be allowed to try breathing on his own with assist from the ventilator. If that goes well, they will back off the sedation enough to bring him around. It is then we will be able to get an idea of the extent of injury to the brain.

Forks In The Road

We faced the first fork early on. The fork that determined if he would live or if he would perish. The next major fork we come to will be the one that leads either to a functional but lengthy recovery or the one that leads to permanently brain damaged condition. I do not dwell on what could be, might be, or should be. I only focus on what is. Regardless of which fork in the road Rodney takes, I will be right there with him, for as many miles as it takes.

If you would like to read my initial post about Rodney including a poem I wrote for him, you can follow this link

https://steemit.com/poetry/@tamaralovelace/prayers-please-and-a-poem-for-my-son

For those of you who have offered your prayers, well wishes, spiritual healings, reiki and all manner of good vibrations, I am eternally grateful. You are well loved by me and I return your generosity in kind.

For those instrumental in getting my message out there...well, I just cannot thank you enough...please accept my heartfelt gratitude and love.