Today is Saturday, two days after the surgery. Mark's swollen and bruised face has all but gone down completely, which is amazing in itself!
Yesterday I decided to wait another day before taking Sebastian in to see his father. I didn't want him to get scared and I thought a little more time would make all the difference. By now however, Sebastian was starting to act out and was calling for his daddy a lot more. A first planned sleepover changed to me bringing him home and putting him to bed. It's so hard. I don't want him to be upset or add more stress to his already confusing little life.
By the time I got to the hospital it was quite late in the evening and Mark seemed a little down. We talked about pain levels and the type of pain medication he was on as I could not understand why he was only on Panadol a day after surgery! He had not had any real sleep or rest so I decided I would talk to the nurses and find out what we could do. A short conversation later and his medication was changed to a higher dose of pain meds which he was allowed to have every two hours. Satisfied that he would now get a chance to rest, I kissed him goodnight and promised to be back in the morning to help him have a shower.
With an early morning play date arranged, Sebastian and I made pancakes, leaving one aside to take to Daddy. With a promise I would take him to see Daddy later that morning, I left him with a neighbour and headed in to hospital.
When I arrived, the nurse was changing the dressing on the wound which travels from one ear to the other. His head was covered in staples and I joked that he looked like the character out of Robo Cop. Or at least I said, "some movie with a robot", and he said, "Oh, you mean Robo Cop". The swelling had gone down quite a bit and he was looking much better as he did get some rest overnight. The showering went well using the shower chair with me only scrubbing his back and holding the water for him. I helped him into some clothes and gave him his shaver and he was beginning to look normal again.
I then went home to pick up Sebastian. We cut some beautiful roses from the garden and grabbed some cream for Mark's lips, the pancake that we had prepared earlier and we were off. On the way I told Sebastian that Daddy may look a little funny, but he is still the same Daddy we know and love. He handled it really well and although he was a little stand offish, he happily gave his Dad a hug.
With his family members together, I grabbed a wheelchair and we set off to feed some ducks and get Mark some much needed fresh air. We only stayed in the courtyard a short time, and Mark seemed to enjoy feeding the ducks himself as well as watching Sebastian. He said he was ready for a real coffee, so we wheeled him over to the cafe' for the real thing.
The whole adventure seemed to tire Mark and he was soon ready to head back inside, his lunch awaiting him. We stayed a little longer but once he had eaten his lunch we left him to rest for the afternoon. The family then returned home where we all had lunch together and I had a much needed opportunity to do some grocery shopping.
After a simple dinner of BBQ sausages and store bought salad, the family headed off first to see Mark with me following once Sebastian had settled in to bed (which seemed to take forever). By the time I arrived, Mark was already getting ready for bed. I stayed with him a short while but he seemed really tired and when I asked him if I should leave, he said yes.
On the way out I noticed some maps of the brain and descriptions of what the various parts of the brain do. Right Frontal Lobe; Mood, Social Interactivity, Decision Making, Evaluation of Environment and something else about the sequence of a task, like making a cup of coffee. So far I cannot tell if there are any differences or changes as he seems a unhappy, distracted and bored. He asked for some electronic devices to be brought back and I guess I should be pleased. But I am so unsure and I hate that he is there bored and I want him here where I could look after him and spend more time with him as well as give him rest periods with quietness.
He is in a shared room now and this would only add to his depression. I only hope that this is a short term thing and that with some good news from doctors, a connection to the Internet and a healed body, he will bounce back and give me a genuine smile.
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