Better Than Dad!

This morning, Macayla woke up with a lot of congestion and mucus which made it difficult for her to breathe. I could tell it was in her nasal passages and down her throat. Most of us process our mucus constantly to where it doesn't build up and if it does, we can expectorate it or swallow. Macayla can do neither. I had to suction her a bunch and we use a flexible tube catheter to suction her with. It helps us to go further down her throat and down her nose with less damage to the linings of her throat and nose. It took a while this morning to clear her out and get her comfortable.

Then I noticed she had a lot of gunk built up around her feeding tube and began to clean it off. In doing so, I noticed fresh granulation tissue around her tube for the millionth time. It was bloody and tender. So, this morning, Macayla woke up to tubes down her throat and her tummy bleeding and hurting. But she still smiled.

It never ceases to amaze me how she can smile after we do that kind of stuff to her or after having to struggle to breathe through mucus. I am not that good of a patient. I get a headache and I'm in a bad mood. If I had to put up with what she does, I don't know if I would ever smile again. But she does. She still smiles when I talk to her. She still smiles when the suctioning is over and sometimes even during the suctioning. My wife is a nurse and has to put up with a lot of patients, but I'm one of her worst while Macayla is one of her best. There are times I am feeling bad and do my best not to tell Jennifer just for the sake of our marriage! I know I am not going to respond well to nursing care. God help me if I get old! I pray He will give me the same strength and attitude He has given Macayla!