Update on Ethan

(For those of you who don't know, Ethan crashed on his bike on Monday and lacerated his liver. He was life-flighted out of our town to a hospital with a trauma center 2.5 hrs away and spent the past a couple of days in the ICU. He had a stage 3 (out of 5) tear, but thankfully, did not require surgery. Here's the latest.)

We are home! :)

This week has been an experience I never want to have again, but I am so thankful for how it turned out. Ethan is okay, and we are out of the hospital.

After three days in the bed, he was climbing the walls today, full of energy and so ready to be up and around. When he literally put the back of his hospital bed as upright as it would go and began scaling it like Mt. Everest, his nurse let him out of the room to wander the hospital with me a bit. They had the best children's facility I have ever seen . . . playrooms, aquariums, outside decks, a dvd player and playstation in every room (dvd's and games were available free in a redbox type kiosk), and they even brought in a wii to his ICU room one day.

He is doing great now and not in any pain. Unfortunately he is on severe activity restriction for the next three months. No running, jumping, bike riding, rough-housing . . . anything that could cause his liver to bleed again. So that will make for a tough summer, but considering the alternative, we'll make do and be thankful.

The hospital went all out for his birthday today. The cafeteria sent him a cupcake with a card, a guy came by with a guitar and sang happy birthday to him, and the nurses made him a banner and gave him three wrapped gifts. Oh, and a root beer float!

His birthday notwithstanding, the hospital was just fantastic in the first place. In the ICU, he was given a shoebox-sized container full of activities and toys (a slinky, coloring books/crayons, matchbox cars, playdough), and then a volunteer came by and gave him a fleece blanket (his choice of colors) and a Batman pillow case. He got to bring everything home with him. (Unfortunately, when we got home, Joshua saw it all and said, "I can't wait 'till I get to be in the hospital!")

I have a new appreciation for children's hospitals and the people/groups who donate things to them. What a difference it makes to a child stuck in such a frightening, strange, and uncomfortable place. I will begin making donations myself in the very near future and encourage you to do the same.

I cannot thank you all enough for your prayers and support this week. It has meant the world to me and has been so encouraging to hear. I showed Ethan a Facebook thread and all the comments on it and told him that all those people were praying for him. He said, "Do you think there's 100 of them???!!" I told him at least. Thank you for giving that gift of encouragement to him and letting him know how much he is valued.