baby maximus: adjusting

In just 5 days...

We came home from the hospital.  

This is what Karl's first night sleeping in a bed for a whole month looked like.  We were afraid to stick Maximus in his crib and make him cry it out after such a traumatic month so we held him until he fell asleep.  And then he tossed and turned all night.  So we did, too.  And Samuel decided to join us.  If you have had a newborn, you know how my head was feeling.  This looks semi-peaceful but it wasn't.  There were four in the bed and the little one said...

It only took one night of that to realize that the sardine can/bed situation wasn't working.  The next night it was crib time.  There were a few tears.  But guess what?  He slept like a champ.  So much so that I started to worry.  After an hour of worrying and occasionally standing outside his door wondering if he was okay I tiptoed into his room.  He was hugging his blanket.  He said, "Hi!" I think it would be hilarious to watch my mom tiptoe into the room all the way to the crib, stare at me for a minute and then see the look on her face when I say, "Hi!"  Maximus is hilarious.  He was fine, then I had to leave the room and make him cry.  I am awesome. 

He hasn't forgotten how to sleep at night and that deserves a great big thank goodness.  It makes life  a jillion time easier. 

 

Maximus has gotten his appetite back.  

Chopsticks!  He insisted.  

I was actually happy to share my hospital mint brownie when he asked.  He finally asks for food.  Such a relief.

We went back to the hospital three times.  

It's routine.  Wound care and therapy.  Our new life.  

The bandages are getting less and less.  His right thigh is bandage free.  It looks like it really wants to be bandaged but they assured me it doesn't.  That means it the skin has healed.  
Our new life in addition to our old life.  

We have changed miles of bandages and done hours of therapy stretches.

At home we are supposed to change his dressings and stretch his hands three times a day.  

We have sorted through all the stuff we have here in UT.  

Our friends let us put some stuff in their shipping container headed to Kauai.  And I just can't even explain what a huge relief it was to not have to do all the work that it takes to arrange that.  It is a decision making nightmare times 10 and add the money stress and we'll times that by 100.  I started the process a couple of times and quit.  Too much work.  And the work I was avoiding sat and waited and bugged me constantly.  So thankful.  Times 1000.

We pulled two all nighters to get that done.  And we aren't college spring chickens anymore. Aging rapidly.  Times 10,000.  
We have a crazy life that we chose.
Plus this new crazy life that we didn't choose.

Another eating photo.

Can you tell I am excited?  

He went from only eating two goldfishie crackers the whole day to eating two in one bite.  

We are coping.  Even having fun sometimes.  How?

Looking through my photos, it looks like sugar is helping me get through this.  

No, my hand isn't unusually small.  That shake is gigantic.  Karl and I may not agree on a lot of things.  But we agree on Iceberg :).

Karl got some iron port syrup for father's day and we have been making them italian soda style with Sonic's ice nuggets.  Two chubby thumbs up.  

Burn life is in addition to our other life, too.

Eva and my sweet niece in their yukatas that my aunt sent them.  

I kept waiting for a pause.  I don't think we'll have pauses for a while.  I found the old baby monitor and set it up so I don't do stupid things like walk into Max's room and have him greet me and then have to walk out again and upset him.  Tonight, there is just me in my bed.  Big contrast to the first night home.  Ahhh, the space.  Karl must have fallen asleep while putting Maximus down.  I wouldn't be surprised if he just collapsed face down on the floor.  I can hear hear him snoring in the baby monitor.  The snoring means he is exhausted (he tells me he only snores when he is really tired, then I joke that I only sleep when I am really tired.  Funny me, I know).  Not sleeping for three days will do that to you.  Karl is in there, so I know Maximus is fine.  So, I'll turn off the baby monitor.  Just as soon as I'm done giggling.
5 days home.  He's 5 days closer to getting all better. 

I'll admit, I don't know if we have ever had a normal day.  But I guess that is our normal.  

We've got some major adjusting skills.

baby maximus: home!

We are home, at my parent's house now. Made the trip safe and sound. They gave him a stuffed dragon. Said it was because when you fight a dragon, it gets smaller and smaller. Like this. And I say that after this, fighting dragons would be a piece of cake for Maximus.

In the few hours we have been here we have eaten lunch (and my mom and dad trying to slurp their noodles extra loud and make them sound extra delicious was about the cutest thing ever. And it totally worked), gone outside to look at the fish, played trains, and niece is now playing ball with his cute cousin. He is loving it.

Now, I need to remember which meds come when. And now much. And how to do it so he doesn't spit it all out. Yikes. And how to change his dressings. And what to do when his diaper leaks onto his bandages. And to remember to take him in tomorrow. And two days after that. And all the other things that nurses did. Nurses are awesome.

Welcome home, Baby Maximus!

baby maximus: he owns me

I was thinking about my blog title.  Because sometimes you choose things that are so funny and relevant at the time but then as time goes by it's not so relevant and therefore not so funny.  But this story keeps cracking me up... Samuel climbs in our bed one morning.  Cuddles up to me.  Karl tries to put his arm around me, too.  Samuel, annoyed, says, "Get your own mom."  

Own mom.  

He owns me.  

All my kids own me.  

I shouldn't be saying I have three kids when I describe myself.  

I should be saying three kids own me.  

At least that's the way I have been feeling.  It's okay.  I signed up for this.  

 It's fun to feed people that love to eat, right?  Max loves to eat.  And he just has this look that makes you want to feed him. Maybe that's one of the characteristics of a therapy baby is that they are fun to feed.  But lately he hasn't been eating much.  It's sad.  

It doesn't stop most from trying.  The guy a few rooms down from us (that is out already, *sigh*) saw us walking past a few times and asked the nurse if it was okay if he gave Maximus a Kit Kat.  Look at Maximus try to hold it.  So funny.  

And my sister's family discovered that Maximus thinks dum-dums are awesome. 

And gold fishy crackers showed up in the mail all the way from Kauai from his sweet aunty Kat that always feeds him gold fishy crackers at the beach or at church.  

Or how about that two pound box of chocolate from his grandma and grandpa.  I was even letting him take one bite out of one and then go for another.  I usually hate that.  

Or letting Samuel feed him grape juice out of a can?  Sounds messy, right?  It was.  LIttle grape juice specks everywhere.  

But I let all these things happen because I want him to eat. 

Oh, and because he really really owns me right now.

You know what says when he wants something?

He says, "Mom!"  It doesn't necessarily mean me.  It seriously means that he wants something and he wants it now.

Physical therapists come in everyday.  They play a little, they move his hands a little, they show us how to move his hands.  So he is trying to get Maximus to push a button on a toy.  Maximus pulls out his foot and pushes the button.  The physical therapist laughs, "I haven't seen that before."  

and he didn't even see Maximus eat with his feet.  The thing is, he can pick things up with his right hand but he still thinks it's fun to pick it up with his hand, stick it in his toes and then eat it.  

And I let him.  Because he owns me right now.  And it's pretty funny.  

I posted this on FB, but here's is a 10 second video of it.  

Today they changed the dressings on his left hand from a giant club/paw and slimmed it down to more of a small paddle.  A momentous occasion, after three and half weeks of not being able to hold up his own cup, he can now hydrate himself.  

No more teddy bear muffin paws for this boy.  He is down to a temporary compression glove and sleeve on his right and a paddle on his left.  Both his thighs are wrapped but he is IV free.  It left a yucky mark on his foot, but it is gone.   As it heals, his right thigh itches real bad.  He keep scratching.  And being bugged by it.  Poor guy. 

When we get antsy from sitting in the hospital room, we go for walks to the other connecting hospitals.  Primary's has these fake fish that Maximus stared at for a long time.  When we first got to the hospital he wouldn't sit in it.  I had to sit in there with him.

You know, because he owns me.  

But now he is used to it, loves going for rides, and whimpers when he realizes we are back at the burn unit.  

Maximus is surviving the hospital with yummy treats, TV, books, singing, toys, wagon rides and making me his personal slave.

I am surviving with awesome electronics (I love technology), knowing this will end soon (like,  the doctor told us Maximus can leave this Friday), and figuring out which cafeteria has the best mint brownies.   

So, ya, it looks like we are leaving Friday.  I am nervous to keep Maximus safe in a different environment but other than that, this is very good news.

And, when we are all under the same roof, my kids can own me all at once instead of shifts.  

baby karl

 Happy Fathers Day!

Looks like Maximus isn't the only one that can sport a little Euro swimmie.  

Now the mystery of where Maximus gets his lighter hair and sturdy physique is not much of a mystery, is it?

Karl, being so father-y...

Maximus update:

Yesterday, his surgery went as planned.  They took a strip off skin of his left thigh all the way up his hip and grafted it onto his left hand.  During recovery was first time that I felt this scared about this situation.  His oxygen levels kept dropping.  100 is best and anything under 90 the alarm would sound and his kept going down to the 70's even the 60's and then specialists would come in and hook stuff up and give him stuff (I'm so technical, I know).  I found myself trying to breath deep hoping Maximus would catch on.  I had to hold the oxygen mask as close to his face as I could without touching him.  The second it would touch him he would freak out and we could have to start over getting his levels up.  It was like playing Operation but instead of a buzz, a kid would get mad, roll over and bat at the mask with his bandage paws.  It was nerve racking and it took three hours.  Taking deep breaths just thinking about it.  But after that he slept like a giant baby.  They will keep him sedated so he doesn't disturb his grafts.

 It is hard to look at his splotchy, stapled, sewn, wrapped, bumpy hand and understand why they are saying how great and even beautiful it looks. I will take their word for it.  

I miss being able to squeeze his thighs.  It was an instant laugh from him.  His ticklish spot.  And, today, when they were unwrapping his right hand, Eva's eyes got all watery and she said, "I miss his hands!  My eye's keep watering.  I just miss his hands."  She was crying.  She's right, his hands are very missable.  And his thighs.  

They unclubbed his right hand and put it in a compression sleeve and glove today.  It looks so tiny now.  And seems so fragile without the splint and layers and layers of gauze and bandages.

It looks like he is healing quickly.  

Seems to me, this has been Karl's father-iest year so far.

Good thing there is a day to celebrate it.

baby maximus: i'm sorry

I am sorry that Maximus hurts. 

I am sorry that sometimes when he is hurting all I can do is rub his back or his hair or any other skin that I can find that isn't bandaged up.

I am sorry that sometimes he hurts so bad that he wants his face buried in my neck and when I move an inch, he gets scared.  It's like he is trying to crawl in and hide from the hurts in that spot.  Sometimes he tries to hold me with his nubby muffin clubs to make sure that I can't get away.  

I am also so sorry for the people that are sorry right along with me.  Maximus is not just mine and Karl's baby.  I know that.  I know that there are so many people feeling pain, too.

His besties are the guys with the big giant teddy bear hearts.  Maximus with his teeny tiny vocabulary, seems to be able to carry on some sort of conversation.  Words not necessary.  I heard that one of Maximus's favorite friends at church spoke of when he first met Maximus.  My friend wrote,  "He said that Max wanted to eat some food with him, came down and sat next to him and they ate together.  Michael's words were, 

'we became good friends after that.' 

He talked about how much he missed him and how much he wishes him a speedy recovery."

Just thinking about this gets us choked up every time.   Can't you just picture Maximus sitting next to this local, gentle giant, hanging out and having a snack?  Such a great image.  

I have so many memories of Maximus making friends like that. 

And I know that those friends are hurting, too, and I'm sorry.    

Two and a half weeks half passed by.  The shock of the story has worn off.  But it still is a pretty yucky thing to hear. I am sorry that we have this horrific story and that people we love have to hear it.   My heart sinks every time I see a new baby in the burn unit.  I'm starting to feel like a permanent fixture here.  Feels like we see kids come in and out but we keep staying.  He has another surgery scheduled for Friday.  They will take the skin from his left thigh and graft his left hand.  

The nurse snapped this picture...

It's okay to be this sorry. I know I won't always have to be this sorry. 

 We dumped some sad into the universe.  

I'm sorry.

   

baby maximus: help

Sandy in a Hat Baby Maximus

I want to tell you that I am so grateful for the help we have received.  I actually have a list of people that have helped us.  It's right here in my pocket.  I also want to thank you for the offers of help.  If his recovery were based on prayers alone, he would be a baby hand model/master pianist by the age of three.  

The benefit of Maximus being so young with this happened is that he will heal quickly and probably will not remember a thing.  The down side is that he is too young to use the nurse call button so this is ending up being a 24/7 job for us,  we sooth, we rock, we read, we sing, we walk, we feed, and we call the nurse when he needs it.  Oh, he would have to learn how to use the call button with his toes, wouldn't he?

People have been so kind and want to help.  And I want them to help.  I know I need them to help.  Until now, to most I have said nothing because I seriously don't know how to make the connection between the offer and the receiving.  Fact is, most of my brain isn't working right now.  It's on autopilot. For now, I think it actually might be best that way.

Enter my besties from forever ago.  They know me, they listen to me, they know what I need. Even if I can't figure out what I need.  They know what things that are stressing me out, they know the little things that I probably do or don't need.  If I think too much about them, I get all weepy.  

It's not so much that I am asking for help.  It's more that, I know I haven't answered the question, "How can I help?" and it's silly of me to do so when I know this is the time.

In conclusion (I learned you're not supposed to say that because a good conclusion doesn't need to be announced and since this isn't a good conclusion because I keep rambling because this is such an awkward topic for me I will use it), if you have wanted to help please e-mail, call, or text my friend, Heather.  She has known me since the eighties, folks.  She knows what I need:

boycesensei@yahoo.com
801-647-0471

and for dessert...
They put Maximus under conscious sedation to do his dressing changes every other day.  His eyes are open the whole time.  It is kind of a lot freaky.  Sometime he will cry or yell mom, or no, or say uh-oh.   All very sad.  But today, he started blowing kisses.  

baby maximus: baby steps

We'll just go ahead and call this the longest two weeks ever.  But in a way it is weird that June is already happening outside the hospital.  

Yesterday, Maximus was much much more Maximus.  He is IV free, which meant one less tube.  Which meant instead of mourning that he was grouchy, I was trying to figure out how to keep a kid that usually roams from room to room emptying cupboards and drawers, finding snacks, climbing on everything, and according to Eva, breaking all her stuff, occupied in crib.  He was starting to bounce around, literally.  With all his tubes and fragile skin, it was so nerve racking.  So much so that it was almost funny.  He had some friends and family come visit that could give him a change of view. 

Sorry for the blur.  Maximus continues to work on his feet skills.  He still has his sense of humor.  On days when he won't eat a single thing, he will make an exception for stuff that is funny.  Like a fishie cracker if he can eat it off a toy train or from his toes.  Or juice out a sippy cup that spills more down his chin than into his mouth.  Or a sucker.  What's more fun that candy on a stick?  Watch more TV, Maximus.  Play with your food, Maximus.  Wear awesome sleeveless mock neck mesh shirts, Maximus.  Haha.  Doesn't it look like he's ready to dance?  It's to keep the wires in place.   Now, even his torso is not free.

He took a walk today.  I held his clubby bandage and we walked down to the end of the nurses station and back.  Stopping along the way to say hi to another 20 month year old baby and take her toys and cry when she takes them back.  And stopping to find your own toys in the giant toy closet.  And stopping to try and unsuccessfully turn every knob he could see.  Not shown is the procession of nurses carrying his toys and wheeling his vacuum thing and feeding tube thing.  He reminds me of Corduroy the Teddy Bear with his hands like this.

He is getting some real rest at this very second.  That makes me glad.

He is saying more.  He says whoa!, nods yes, yells go!, signed fishy, signed please, and has been blowing tons of kisses. 

And my sister is on her way so I get to have Sunday dinner with my family.  Even though it has only been a few weeks.  It feels like it has been longer since we have done that.  

Baby steps...

baby maximus: peek a boo

Yesterday was not a picture taking, blog this moment day.  Maximus seemed depressed.  So I was, too.  The nurses assured me it was the drugs.  I did not get a smile all day.  And it's so weird.  Sometimes when things go wrong, you forget that it will pass.  Like when you have a newborn and you think that you will never ever be able to sleep through the night for the rest of your life.  I was getting a little down because my baby was in so much pain.  

I felt like this:

I think parents always think they could never handle an experience when they hear about it, but when the time comes, you realize you don't have a choice.  I was scraping the bottom of the barrel for things to be grateful for.  I was glad that I didn't have a headache and I wasn't nauseous.

But today, they lightened up on the sedatives and Maximus was much more Maximus.  

He played peek a boo with my mom.  We made a few phone calls and he blew kisses and sang.  He saw Eva's picture and blew her some kisses.  He loves her so much.  He gets all riled up when he sees Samuel but blows kisses for Eva.   He yelled, "Go!"  He blew kisses for his Grandma and Grandpa when they visited.  Old Maximus was back. 

Here is a Maximus Minute.  He is singing.  I was so excited.  

Tonight was the first time Karl and I have been without Maximus for a couple of weeks.  I can't believe it has been only two weeks.  What a whirlwind of two weeks.  Longest two weeks ever.  Oh, so, ya, us without Maximus.  Karl's brother and his wife offered to stay with Maximus in the hospital so we could go to dinner.  I never would have thought about asking someone but they were so specific in their offer, it was easy to say yes.  So as we were leaving (the nurses had been encouraging us to do so all week but we didn't know how to make it happen).  
Us:  We are going to go to dinner and Karl's brother and his wife are going to be with Maximus.
Burn ICU nurse: That's great.  What are their names?
Us:  Burns and Brenda
Burn ICU nurse:  His name is really Burns?


And while we were gone Maximus skyped with his cousins for over 90 minutes.  I think it is hilarious that a kid that doesn't even talk can skype for that long.  Like I said before, he isn't a kid of many words but he expresses so much.  


Today I was grateful and it wasn't even the forced kind.  Hooray!

baby maximus: hospital days

I never ever thought there would be a day when I am happy when my kid will eat chocolate, or canned syrupy peaches, or drink processed meal replacement.  How about when we cheer when he will eat ice cream?  Or when we are glad that he finds comfort in watching TV.  He needs calories and he needs comfort and things that I am usually kind of against are things that we are turning to.  

Hospital stay keeps getting longer and longer.  At first we thought a couple of weeks.  But when they went into surgery on his left hand, they found that he was burned past the fat and nerves all the way down to his tendons.  So they are trying to reconstruct the padding.  They will check that in a couple of weeks and then they can maybe graft it.  And we will do this whole process with his left hand and his left thigh.  So at least another two weeks after that.  

Maximus is not comfortable.  He rolls, he wriths, he kicks, he pulls.  Sometimes he sleeps and sometimes he just lays there.  Something I have never seen him do.  He never just lays there.  Today he was sleeping and his eyes opened so wide so suddenly and he yelled, "Mom!" and he seemed so scared.  His heart rate shot up to 189 (120 is normal for a kiddo his age).  The nurse rushed in and saw him just as he was settling down.  She said that burn patients often have nightmares of the accident.  Sadness.  

Here is Maximus in his bead head glory.  Trying his best to get comfortable.  

He is constantly trying to pull his cords off.  He only has one free foot and he knows how to use it.  

Karl has been sleeping here (or rather trying to get some sleep here) nights so he can go home and work during the day.  This is our set up.  Saggy, but sufficient, cot next to Maximus's hospital crib.  The staff here is so very nice and do their best to make us feel comfortable in our temporary home.  Though he will not have feeling in his left hand, and some places on his right, I do believe that he will get better.  So, until then, it is just endurance.  I can do that.  Not to brag, but it's one of my skills.  But not complaining is not one of my skills and if I have one petty complaint is that we have to walk out of the burn unit and kinda far to use the bathroom.  And I really really hate using the nurse call button to tell someone that I need to go potty.  I haven't had to ask permission since I was in grade school.  I have to time it so Maximus is happy or sleeping when I leave and then I almost always know that I am going to come back to a crying Maximus because he has some sort of mom detector that knows if I leave the room.  Hehe.  Maybe my timing skills will get better the longer we stay here.

He used to say or sign more, please, thank you, down, dad, book, juice, milk, drink, eat, cereal, cookie, cracker, shoes, mommy (he was calling me-maw for a while which I thought was so funny) , no, yes, uh-oh, and bird.  He was never a kid of many words but he was very expressive.  And now he says even less... no, mom (which means me or Karl), eh (which means anything), and uh-oh.  They said it will all come back.  It must be so frustrating for him to not even be able to point at what he wants.

It's getting better, though.  Karl said last night that Maximus was blowing kisses.  Which in his language is the universal sign.  It means goodbye, thank you, and good night.  

Once again, thank you for your kind words of support and love and for you prayers.  They are really helping Maximus, I just know it.  

Here is a video of our family not too long ago.  Maximus throwing little rocks the whole time, Samuel jumping from rock to rock like Spider Man, Karl relaxing by the rocks in the rive, and Eva standing on the rock getting ready to yell, "I'm king of the world!"  Carefree times.

baby maximus: stoic little fellow

This morning I was sitting in the waiting room while Maximus was getting his surgery.  A three year old boy came in with obvious scarring on his face and head and his hands were wrapped just like Maximus.  His left hand up to his wrist and his right hand all the way up his arm.  My natural self would look away, continue what I was doing as if I didn't notice, and then sit there pretending like I can think about anything else.  So dumb.  But I fought my natural self.  His mom was kind and answered my silly questions.  He was burned, like I thought.  And get this... it was by his dad.  After talking some more I learned she was also in her third trimester with twins from this dad when this happened.  She could deliver any day.  She said to me, "When you think your situation is bad, remember this and you will feel better."  She was in my situation, plus more, times more.  

I was so sad for this boy.  The mom was so brave and so kind.  She could have been offended by my ignorance, but instead she showed me all the bandages and gear that we have to look forward to.  


This is the part where if someone had written a song titled, "Stop Whining About Not Being to Go to the Beach for a Year You Big Baby," it would start playing now.

I don't feel better.  Now my heart hurts for that boy.  But today I will be grateful that Maximus knows that his mom and dad love him.  Heck, Maximus knows the whole world loves him.

These are Karl's words, in a quick text to family that was waiting anxiously, on how the surgery went:   

Surgery is done.  Still sleeping.  Giving him precedex as a painkiller and to keep him sedated and not moving around for the next few days.

Surgery went well.  Right arm was as expected.  Sheet grafted with no meshing (so no bumpy grafting appearance later).  that required graft from the whole right thigh.  The donor site is more painful than the graft site (like a road burn).  That should heal up in a couple weeks.  The graft is wrapped tight for a few days to make sure it takes.

The left hand (palm) is burned deeper than hoped, all the way through the fatty tissue to the tendons (which werent badly damaged).  To restore the padding in the  palm and fingers, they put on a collagen matrix layer (mostly made from pig collagen).  after a couple weeks they will take another graft and graft over that.  This means those nerves and those in his forearm where there was full thickness burning are pretty much gone.  Physical therapy will help with that.

The most intense part is over and he is doing well.

And my words:

They took all the skin off his cute little thigh all the way up to his hip.  A big giant open wound.  They said it will be more painful than his burn sites.  It looks horrible.  The surgeon said he is a "stoic little fellow."  Karl responded, "He always has been." Right?  Even in surgery they got to know Maximus.  He isn't allowed to move around for a while.  He needs to let the grafts set.  He wakes every once in a while and yells, "Mom!" and I just keep praying that he won't remember that all I could do is stand there and rub his head when he was in so much pain.  I keep telling him, "It's okay."  Stupid habit.  I would hate it if I clearly knew it wasn't okay and someone kept saying that to me over and over.  I know it will be okay.  Totally okay, even.  But he doesn't understand that either.  

Here is a little sweet, after such bitter.  Maximus sleeping just a few weeks ago.  In his crib.  Cuddled with books.  He loved to cuddle with books to go to sleep.  Sometimes lots and lots of books.  His chubby, healthy hands holding his books while he sleeps makes me smile.

And a dessert video.  All he is doing is walking but it is so very Maximus.  Confident, happy, and healthy.  

our kauai life: walk to the beach

I drafted this post before Baby Maximus got hurt. Read to the bottom to see why we are kind of a lot a bit sad, today.

We have to consciously make an effort to get out and do stuff.  If we don't, days and even weeks can pass, tans fade, and I start forgetting why we moved our whole family out here. On this day, after a long day of boring have-to's, we took a walk and ended up at one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever been to.  

Some cell phone photos to document the journey...

Maximus had it the easiest.  He kind of always does.

 The views were stunning at the end of the walk.  To the left...

 to the right...

 Time to relax.  Or try to relax while giant Baby Maximus uses me as a jungle gym.  But this may be my favorite view.

Or this one.  He does this thing where he cuddles for about 12 seconds and then he keeps using me as a jungle gym.  All while holding a fistful of rice crackers.  

This was a pretty good view, too.  Samuel brought a rope on the walk and in that couple of hours, that rope was 50 different things.  In this photo it is, uh, one of those things that attaches a pile of drift wood to a kid's ankle.   

Samuel climbing in the hiking backpack.  And he fit.  Karl picked him up and Maximus thought it was ridiculous.  

Karl is using his multitasking skills.  Here is walking, carrying a baby, leading Samuel (the rope is now a lead, he did this himself, by the way), and is on FB.  

Looking at these phone photo, looks like the boys in my family are all kinds of funny.  Taking a break from boring to-do's, beautiful walk, funny boys...

*Today as the doctor was explaining the timeline of Max's recovery, he mentioned no ocean for a year. No salt water, no sand, no sun. What?  Beach Baby Maximus with the sun bleach surfer hair and tan lines on his baby fat rolls?  The baby that has known the ocean for most of his life?  He used to take naps on the beach. He can see the ocean from his bedroom. Playgroup is at the beach. Here is the thing that is killing me... Seems like a TV is the modern day hearth of the home. It's where families gather. When we moved to Kauai we consciously did not get a TV and bought boogie boards, surf boards, an umbrella (that's where I spend most of my time :)), and sand toys instead. That's the time that we are together. At home, we all have a million things to get done. At the beach, we just be. I am mourning several things, and today, I am mourning the beach memories we won't have.

baby maximus: here, thank goodness

After 3.5 hours of wondering what we should do... Go back to the hospital, go to friend's house, go to a hotel, freak out... we were glad not to have to make a choice. They found the broken wire and we all boarded the plane. Unfortunately, the nap that we carefully planned was wasted in the airport. It ended up being a power nap and the plane ride ended up being a 3 second interval baby airplane circuit course for Maximus. Each activity lasting for no more than three seconds... sit on a lap, sit on a seat, lay on a lap, kick the chair in front of us, cry because we stopped him, push the buttons on the screen, use Dad's fingers to push the buttons, eat 1.5 bites of something, spit some of it out, ask for a pillow, lay on it, chuck it and say uh-oh, and on and on and on. All this while the rest of the plane slept. And we reacted in the best way zombies can.

My parents met us at the airport. They whisked away Eva a sSamuel and we were off to Intermountain Burn Center. Two minutes after getting in the car, guess who decides to sleep? My tired thoughts shouted, "You're sleeping NOW?!"

We woke him to take him into the the hospital where they changed his dressings and took a look at his burns. No more Courdroy the teddy bear hands, more simple dressings with socks over them. Like we used as ghetto mittens for a quick play in the snow in the eighties (we also used to ski in jeans and put plastic bags in our moonboots to keep our feet dry before things got all fancy). They think it will be skin grafts on Tuesday and then two weeks in the hospital after that. They sent us to the cafeteria for lunch while they got our room ready and we drove to Cafe Rio instead. Fact: even your most favorite foods don't taste so great when yojr baby has burns. But I'll keep trying. Max was more pleased with being able to hold a fork than the food.

A pediatric hospital is a little bit softer and sweeter than the ICU in a burn center so I'm trying not to be shocked in our new surroundings. But I still am. Tomorrow, jet lag will be behind us and it be better. I just know it.

baby maximus: airport drama

We made it out of the hospital without a hitch. Karl left earlier today to Kauai to pick up Eva and Samuel,pack a few things for the summer, and to close up the house. I packed up our hospital room, got the meds, the paper work, and packed up Maximus and the bags of stuff that come with preparing to face all the what ifs when flying with a hospital patient.

Friends helped us get to and from everywhere. Nice, huh?

I got to the airport 3 hours early. Don't faint. Sky cap printed something special for me to get through security. Too special. They wouldn't let me through. I stood there while person A went to get person B who also wouldn't let me through. Person B went and got C. And he wouldn't either. Same with D. While I am standing there with a stroller and a carry on and two bags full of special drinks, meds, snacks, diapers, changes of clothes, etc. (Remember when you just needed a magazine and a good book to get through a flight?), and a baby in a hospital gown with nubs for hands and a wound on his face. I didn't look up. I knew I was a spectacle. I would have believed person A. So I hauled all my stuff back to the check in counter super fast so no one could see me cry. And the tears were dry by the time I got to the check in desk. I am a very efficient crier :). This is when they went and got someone important. He walked me through security. He helped me load my hundred pounds of crap. Everyone greeted him. He walked me to the gate. He found me a seat and handed me his card. The manager of TSA helped me through security.

Maximus was so happy to not have an IV. I had no shoes for him but didn't have the heart to stop him from running and jumping to his heart's content. He was so happy. He was asking for food (he hadn't been eating much. Hence the feeding tube). He was pushing the stroller and having me hold his nub as he strutted down the aisle.

Karl and the kids showed a couple hours later. I was so happy to see them for so many reasons. Maximus was so happy to see them.

My parents will meet us as the airport with two cars. One to take Eva and Samuel to their house and one for us to take Maximus straight to the burn center. Everything has miraculously gone as planned. Except now. A wire is broken in the plane. So they will let us know when they find that needle in the haystack. Not another plane out of here all night that isn't booked. Awesome. Good thing I brought enough crap to last.

*sigh*

I am still glad we left. I haven't seen baby this happy in days.

I'll keep you posted.