Clarification

Good morning everyone. The hazard of me coming home from the hospital and immediately sitting down to post is that I'm exhausted and don't necessarily communicate as clearly as I otherwise might.

Insurance: Tristan had indicated he was signing up for insurance through his work and told us we could remove him from our policy. Thankfully, Jon had the foresight to keep him on our policy which means his medical expenses will be covered until we exhaust the funds (if that happens). That being said, his job is 100% commission, so he will have no income until he is able to return to work (although I am going to see if we can apply for the WA Paid Leave Act for him). We have had offers from people to set up a GoFundMe page for Tristan and we have accepted that offer for Tristan's sake. I will provide the information for that as soon as I have it in case anyone is interested.

Pain Relief: I thank you all for being on the lookout for Tristan and wanting, as we do, what's best for him. On the issue of drip vs pill pain relief - the drip is fast acting but short lasting, whereas the pills are slower acting but longer lasting. The nurse explained to me yesterday that the nurses in Acute Care aren't as comfortable with the narcotic drips (Fentanyl, Dilaudid, etc.) because they are often only able to check on their patients every 2 - 3 hours, whereas Tristan has near constant supervision in the ICU. Yes, Tristan's throat is sore and swallowing the pills causes him to cough. BUT...he needs to be coughing, despite the pain, to expel the phlegm and blood coming from his orbital fracture. He won't accept food, even apple sauce, so the only option for now is for him to take them with water. He is so very sleepy and has no short-term memory from the concussion, that he didn't do well with the PCA (self administered pain drip) so they removed it and went to the pill form. I know it sounds cruel, and I assure you as Momma Bear that cruelty is something I absolutely won't stand for when it comes to my children, but they do have Tristan's best interests at heart. I promise you all that I'm there six hours a day to help care and advocate for our child.

With that, we thank you all for the love, support, concern, and messages you're providing. It's humbling to see how many people love this young man outside of our little family unit. We appreciate you all and hope you'll stay on this journey with us. Much love and gratitude.