Jackson has really come a long way in the past 24 hours. Although he looks really rough in the pictures below, we were prepared that the swelling would be at its worst today. I stayed with him at the hospital last night, and at times, it felt as though I was looking at someone else's child. But when I held him close, I knew he was mine. He woke up at 1:00 startled and very upset that he couldn't see. The nurse rushed in from hearing him outside the door and helped me get him up. He immediately put his hand on my face and put his lips against mine to see that it was me. It was absolutely precious! He has continued to be very easy to settle. When the doctors came in this morning, they removed the dressing on his head to reveal a bald little buddy with a zig-zag incision from ear to ear. It was startling to see, especially with his eyes swollen shut and protruding so much they were even with the tip of his nose. His neck was also very swollen. We've made a few joked about how he looks because if we don't find some humor in it, we'll cry about it. It really is sad, but we were prepared for this. I wasn't expecting the drain in his head to be a tube just below the skin that runs ear to ear as well. Despite the drama of his appearance, he's our same sweet buddy. He loves having his face tickled and rubbing his fingers on his blanket to soothe himself. This evening, he sat on my lap (supported) and played with some toys. He laughed once, and we laughed at him. He enjoyed the attention and kept on laughing like "Webster" used to on that '80s show. It was adorable! He got off of Morphine today, but his stomach couldn't handle Tylenol with Codeine or Lortab, so they're trying Motrin. Hopefully this will hold off any pain. He has really done wonderfully and is such a brave little guy! God has been faithful to provide in EVERY way for Jackson. This has really gone much more smoothly than I could have imagined. We're hoping that he will get out on Friday. I'm sorry that we couldn't post this sooner, but we've been having trouble with internet access and cell phone reception in the hospital.
Tuesday night: swelling getting much worse...
Wednesday morning...seeing Jackson's incision for the first time, swelling peaks by mid-afternoon...
Bless his heart!
