Miraculous Update July 4th 6 AM

We had an amazing night. Yesterday the doctors said they would take out the tube in the morning unless he was clearly awake and tried pulling it out (because they wanted to go home--understandably). We had two wonderful nurses who have been working with him who really believed he was ready and would be happier with it out and so they irritated him to wake him by taking out his cathetar, brushing his teeth, suctioning him over and over until he really was awake and fighting them. The doctor finally said they could take it out and after grabbing a team of about 10 and a crash cart just in case they took it out. He threw up a lot, coughed a bit, whined a little, and then fell back to sleep (perfect because all he has in him is tylenol and is probably in pain). He woke up 3 or 4 times during the night absolutely frantic kicking and crying and each time he would eventually say softly "potty, need to get out". He was wearing a diaper and we would all just have to encourage him that it was okay to go in the diaper and when he couldn't hold it anymore he would go and then completely relax and go back to sleep. About an hour ago I heard him moaning and went to him. His eyes were completely open and he reached for my hand and we had a good 15 minute conversation (one word whispers and head nods and shakes on his end). I told him "thank-you for being the strongest, bravest 4 year old I know" and he said "you're welcome". He asked for "bear" and I gave him his teddy bear and asked if he remembered the bears name which he did. I showed him the balloons and then he said "frog?" and I gave him the frog that came with it and he is cuddled up with both "twinkle star" (the bear named by Myles that he gave him) and "frog". He also said he has some "owies" but we couldn't identify where other than a really sore throat. After about 10 minutes I asked him if we should wake daddy up to come talk to him and we did and they had a good conversation as well. We asked if he remembers what happened and he nodded and had a tear. We asked if he was scared and he nodded, and then we have been reassuring him that we don't need to talk about it or think about it yet and we talked about Thomas the Tank Engine until he fell back asleep.

I'm not sure yet what the plans will be for the near future, but things are looking wonderful. Our insurance company won't pay to fly him home and it would be a few days until he is stable anyway. He will likely be in the ICU for another 24-48 hours and then either be transfered to the regular pediatric unit or (if all is amazing) just released and ordered to follow up with a lot of doctors, labs, and films over the next few weeks. The problem is that the doctor doesn't want him flying because the altitude change would not be good for his oxygen levels, and also worries about him being in Utah at a higher elevation until he is a lot more stable (and his lungs are mostly cleared). She is also worried about us driving home because we have to go over mountain passes at about 5600 feet which again is too high for his little lungs right now. So we may end up staying at my parents' home in Lethbridge for a while where he can still get good medical treatment, be near a hospital, and heal more before we attempt to travel. But this is all in the future and we will know more after rounds today.

Marshall and I are both doing so much better now that he is aware and we know we have our Mason back. We periodically cry tears of gratitude for all the miracles we have experienced. Marshall's hips are doing better and the swelling in his feet have gone down, but the bottom of his feet are still pretty blue and bruised. I got pretty dehydrated yesterday and my legs and ankles swelled up like, well, a pregnant lady's, but I got some rest and have been drinking like crazy so I'm feeling better. Myles has been a hero and slept 9 hours last night which he desperately needed. He is so content with grandma and grandpa as long as he gets some daddy time in every morning and afternoon. My parents are troopers and my mom sat up with Mason most of the night to give the rest of us a chance to rest. My dad finally slept last night for the first time since the accident and is in with Mason now, crying tears of gratitude as well.