Doing Much Better Today

Last night was a huge improvement over the previous. Daniel brought Cyan, Brina and Joel to see Maxim after church and his parents came later as well, with Uncle Timothy and Aunt Shannon. At that point in the day, Maxim wasn't feeling the greatest. He was already off the IV pain meds and had not needed any orally for awhile but the discomfort was starting to kick in again. He was so tired to but he always hates to miss what's going on around him. Anyway, he was not terribly outwardly grumpy or anything like that; just didn't engage with everyone as much as I think he was hoping to earlier. Just too out of it.
Later in the afternoon, however, he was doing much better. The nurse agreed to go ahead and give Maxim the two oral pain medicines on a four hour rotation that will keep things even and help him sleep better. Sure enough, he rested very well (so Mama did too) and he is more himself this morning.
He is enjoying some toys that I brought with us (Elmo activity book with lots of stickers, unlike the typical ones kidsfinish in mimutes). He also has a really neat set that Grandma gave him yesterday. It's a case that opens up into a little magnetic board on an easle-type stand. It has a built-in storage area that slides out as a tray at the bottom so kids have easy access to all the magnetic pieces. They provide a deck of cards with pictures of how the pieces can be arranged to make all kinds of vehicles.
If things continue to go well today, we will most likely head home tomorrow (Monday).
Maxim has been quite the trooper. I know that he gets uncomfortable often, even if actual pain is absent at the moment. Sometimes, he grabs hold of the be railing and pulls until he has himself on his side and just holds himself in that position for a little while. Occasionally, I will prop pillows behind him so he can stay that way a little longer. It's pretty much like seeing a big pair of orange scissors open and laying on it's side. This gives Maxim some temporary relief from the monotony of being on his back so much. He has also discovered the buttons that adjust his bed and is glad to adjust it to his liking from time to time.
Last night, Maxim turned himself all the way over onto his belly, hoping for comfort in that position. I asked the nurse if that was okay and she was fine with it as long as certain parts of his body were elevated as needed. Unfortunately, Maxim was not as comfortable as he had hoped he'd be and in the end the best position was still on his back. With one leg slightly more elevated than the other, he was happy to not be completely flat and slept very well.
I know the coming weeks recovering at home will present certain challenges but last night was definitely encouraging and it will be good to get the family back under the same roof too. Looking forward to moving ahead on the road to healing.