And...We're Back

So things have not been fine since we left the hospital on Monday.  We went back to the ER Tuesday night due to screaming, and the PICC line would not flush.  We were sent home with nothing done. So Wednesday I called Grace, the surgery nurse, and codeine was prescribed.  He slept all night and was lethargic and light sensitive the next day, so I stopped codeine and tried Benadryl.  He slept all night again, but woke up screaming.  Nothing calmed him down, not Advil, Benadryl, or codeine, not holding him, bouncing, or rocking.  So, we came back to the ER, where they ran all the normal blood tests, checked the shunt, took tummy x-rays, the whole nine yards.  The tummy x-ray looked different, but they think it's because the colostomy was just placed.  Everything else looked normal.  He was admitted for observation, and I was so glad.  Since going home on Monday, everything has been so stressful, from coordinating two IV antibiotics, pain meds, dealing with extreme fussiness, trying to figure out where the pain was coming from, etc.  It was nice just to be able to sleep and let the nurses take care of all the medical stuff.  As I've said before, I never wanted to be a nurse.

Dr. Walthen believes that Levi just doesn't respond to codeine.  (It's never worked for me, either.)  They switched him to a different medication, and he's been sleeping and relaxed ever since.  If he continues to do well, we can go home tomorrow.