The Spider's Web Undone

Right now I feel just like a spider. A spider that has spent so much effort artfully weaving its fine, intricate web, only to have the rain come and destroy the whole web.

Vera has lost so much of what she could do before this illness.

She's basically like a baby again. All the YEARS of effort - from her many teachers, ourselves and most of all Vera herself - gone down the drain after the hurricane came and went.

Yes yes, well meaning friends tell me she'll get better and be back to her normal self. Who really knows? I don't. All I know now is the PAIN of seeing Vera lose so much function. The HEARTACHE of no more scooting around, head control, sitting by herself, infectious smiles and generous hugs.

Yes yes she's out of danger, we're lucky she's still with us...but now's the time I'm really reeling from the aftermath. I MISS THE OLD VERA SO MUCH. And I need the space and time to get used to the new Vera.

Of course I'm going to try my best to help her regain whatever she used to have.

But right now, I wish I had the spider's non-human ability to just build its web over and over again each time it's destroyed, as if that were what it was born to do.

Mummy Falls Sick

And as so many times in the past, I fall sick once Vera is back home from the hospital.

Well, this is the 4th time I'm sick since she fell sick. My body just can't take the stress.

Caring for a sick child is hard when your sick yourself. Waking up in the night to do suctioning, is becoming harder as the years go by.

Hopefully things will become more manageable when I recover.

Day 2 Back Home

Vera was discharged from the hospital on Friday.

We had been there 4 weeks in PICU, 3 weeks in High Dependency.

While we are so relieved the daily hospital visits have ended, the journey to full recovery has just begun.

Her caregiver and I have to continue suctioning round the clock, as the secretions will not be completely gone for a while.

Vera's different than before. If you've seen how active she is, the change is evident.

As of Day 2:

Head control: poor
L hand: moving slightly like before
R hand: not moving much
L leg: slightly moving
R leg: not moving much
Sitting up: no
Signature smile: no
Remarks: grimacing at times

I've been on unpaid leave - thanks to my very kind boss - since Vera was hospitalised.

While I wish she could bounce back to her normal self and life can resume as normal, it's not going happen.

She shows signs that she's trying, so hopefully with time she can regain whatever function she used to have.