It’s the Little Things

Anyone who tries to say only the “big things” matter has never seen their loved one eating eagerly after months of turning down any food, and not digesting what was poured into their body. They also haven’t seen that person lift their own knee, then lift their leg without any support. Little things, you say? Perhaps, but these are the steps along that journey of a thousand miles we never thought we’d take.
Last Friday Tom developed a taste for Chinese, and we have a very good Chinese restaurant in town. First it was hot and sour soup, then after a few days of that, eaten in small doses, he asked for cashew chicken. That took two days to eat. Especially since he was also eating tapioca, some fruit and (ahem) ice cream.
Along the way he was also moving parts of his body. Foot flexes, pull ups on the overhead bar, twisting back and forth in the hips and shoulders. Lifting his middle off the bed and holding it up.
Doesn’t sound like much, does it? Except he’d been pretty much flat on his back since May 22. After every other surgery he was up and cruising the halls the next day. Somehow this time he hit the bed and stayed there. The nurses called him unmotivated and lazy. The doctors called it failure to thrive. I hate to say it but sometimes I wanted to agree with them.
Until I brought him home, and gave him basic simple food, the opportunity to look out the window, and set the option of survival squarely on his shoulders. He slept a lot at first, and there were days of extreme fright when nothing seemed to work right and I faced a learning curve of immense difficulty.
Then today, with the help of the visiting nurse, he sat up, and we swung his legs over so they could dangle off the side of the bed. Those in bed maneuvers had made him strong enough to hold himself straight with just a little help. So much for being told it would take multiple people assisting for him to ever sit up again.
The little things.
Then there’s my NaNo book, oops, that really is a little thing. Time to stop basking in the glow of the husband getting better and crack down on my word count. I challenged my very clever niece to a NaNo showdown and she’s leaving me in the dust!