Update - Kathleen

So many good things to say!! The move to Cary has been so great but very busy! I have a ton in my head and Joe’s so we’ll try to get it all out :)
First, on Tuesday, I was told that they would get Cale transferred on Wednesday if he had a good night. They didn’t want a high heart rate, fever spike, or seizures. Well, Joe stayed with him that night and said that he had a great night and his heart rate was in the low 90’s!! At one point it even dropped into the 70’s! Cale did so good! I’m so proud of him :) Then Wednesday morning the ambulance was supposed to pick him up at 11 but ended up being 12:30. I had one of those moments that I’m guessing mothers have when their child is going to have their first day of kindergarten. I just kept telling Cale that he didn’t need to be scared with the big change of being transferred, and that I was going to be right behind him. I had such a hard time saying good bye and not getting to ride with him. Joe and Beth picked me up at the hospital and we got on the road right away. Part way there we found Cale’s ambulance! I could see his feet out the back window. I was so confident that it was his because I saw his toes and was saying “those are for sure his toes!” kind of a funny thing to say…but it was true! Haha! It was fun to follow it all the way to the hospital. The paramedic said he had a good ride. Once we got to the hospital, we left right away to find the hotel. The first was a bit sketchy and I’m not sure Joe would have let me stay there, so we found a nicer one, that he approved of :) after getting settled in we went to find Cale!
Seeing Cale in his new room made me smile. I knew right away that Cale was going to be ok and this was a good thing. His nurse was giving him meds when I went in the room so I was able to talk to her quite a bit. As we were talking she was telling me how hard it is to get accepted into this program and how the doctor only takes patients that he believes has great potential. I was pretty overwhelmed with all the information I was being given through the evening and a little nervous about how things were going to be changing, but it’s all good. Already I’m very impressed with the care here. Not just in how sterile everything is but also how they interact with Cale. While they are doing his care (changing his clothes, trach care, meds) the nurses talk with him the whole time and ask him to help. They even let him know when he can’t follow a command that it’s ok and it’s something they can help him work on. It’s very obvious in so many ways, that they are very knowledgeable in his stage of TBI which is very encouraging.
Today was another very eventful day. It started out with the nurse getting Cale dressed! Last night after the hospital, Joe, Beth, and I went to the store and bought Cale some large fitting (which isn’t hard) shirts and sweats. After he was all dresses and I stepped by the bed to see, tears immediately filled my eyes! It was so amazing to see him out of a yucky hospital gown and in a T-shirt! It may seem to most people that it’s a small thing, but for me it was so huge! I must say he’s quite handsome! :) The nurse also did mouth care today and he opened his mouth all the way and let her brush his tongue. That was a first! Also, the speech therapist did ice chip trials today. I was told today that the goal is to get rid of the tubes as quickly as they can. Yay!
This morning I had the chance to speak with the case manager and she was saying that every Monday morning she will give me a full report on how Cale had done for the week and the goals for that week. I like having lots of goals!
As for me, my brain feels like its on overload, but people experience that all the time! I’m getting very tired again. Last night I had trouble sleeping, just thinking about Cale being alone. I know I need rest too so I’m really going to work on that. If anyone has a hot tub I can use in my hotel room, let me know ;) I did realize today after wondering about how I was feeling with everything that the last few days, I’ve put reading my bible on the back burner since I’ve been so busy with so many other things, BUT God has to come first. He is my life line; I can’t get through this without soaking myself in his word. That’s how it should always be with or without Cale in a coma. I was reading in 1 Corinthians 7:30 Paul writes “Happiness, sadness, or wealth should not keep anyone from doing God’s work.” There is still a lot more to write about, but it will have to happen tomorrow. Good night!