Thursday, August 12th

I had an interesting visitor yesterday. The father of the child who told me he "didn't care" that Jameson was sick paid me a visit to clear the air about what happened and to ascertain that Jameson was indeed, sick. I tried to remain calm as I told him how serious a situation this was, and how very hurt I was by his son's flippant reaction to the news. He apologized for what his son had said, and offered prayers and well wishes. He seems to think that the child didn't take my message seriously. I was happy he came by to put the issue to rest.

Jameson is starting to get discouraged. He's tired of being cooped up in a hospital room and wants to come home. At the very least, he wants one of us to stay with him at the hospital. Kevin was visiting him last night, and Jameson wasn't feeling well. He had an upset stomach due to constipation. As if these things weren't enough, he has a roommate - a newborn baby. The baby was screaming so loudly while I was on the phone, I couldn't hear anything but him. Why on earth would they place a newborn in with a nearly 12 year old boy?

Poor Jameson didn't sleep much last night, because the baby, not six feet from his bed, screamed most of the night. As a result, he didn't do well at physical therapy today. This angers me to no end. We have a window of 90 days during which Jameson can recover from this illness. If he's too exhausted to work when he needs to, it could affect his recovery. I told him that if the baby keeps him awake tonight, to buzz the nurse every five minutes until the child is removed from his room. I'm sorry for the perils that plague the other child, but my son shouldn't have to suffer because of it. They can - and should - find another room for a newborn baby.

Not only does the presence of the new roommate affect Jameson's sleep, but it affects my ability to visit him for any length of time. Prior to anyone else being in the room, I could bring Darren with me and allow him to play safely while I visit and tend to Jameson's needs. With someone else in the room, especially a newborn, I'm limited to keeping Darren in his stroller or holding him. Needless to say, our visit today was a short one. I understand the need to double up when the hospital gets full, and I don't mean to sound selfish. But as far as Jameson is concerned, his recovery is my number one priority. If he can't sleep because of a crying baby, then I'll raise holy hell until the crying baby is removed. Period.

I talked to Kevin on the way home and raised my concerns with him. I mentioned that Jameson told me he slept poorly and performed poorly at physical therapy, as a result. He contacted his daughter-in-law who is friends with a higher-up at the hospital. They assured her that they will do whatever needs to be done to make certain Jameson sleeps peacefully.

I've heard conflicting reports on when we can expect Jameson home. Recently, I heard he could come home as early as this weekend. Now we're being told he won't leave the hospital until he can walk. I actually prefer the latter. As anxious as I am to have my son home, I don't want to risk injury by him being in a normal home environment without trained professionals seeing to his every need. I miss him like crazy, but I prefer he come home when he can walk through the front door himself.