Staff Sgt Jason Ross - Marine

Today started out a bit busy, with getting the girls up (Stacy and Jackie) and fed breakfast, and then readied to head over to the hospital. We put the girls into the stroller and walked over to the hospital, and up to the 5th floor. Jason was feeling pretty good, but generally sleepy, so he dozed off. At this point, he still had not seen the girls, since that one time in the C.C.U. (I.C.U. for you non-military types), and we didn't plan on taking them in to see him today either, but more on that later. We wanted to be in the 5th floor waiting area, with the girls, so that both of us could be there, close to Jason, as it was the weekend and the activity level around the hospital (and base) was minimal, and we knew we'd pretty much have the room to ourselves. While one stayed with the girls the other would go in and see Jason. But, like I said, he was feeling a bit sleepy, so we let him sleep. As it turned out, the folks from the Navy Casualty group had planned a baseball game...

Jason had a quick visit to the O.R. this morning. I guess I had gotten used to the pattern from when he was on the 3rd (and 4th) floor, surgery days; when I could just go to his room and be with him until he was taken to the O.R. Now that he is on the 5th floor there are some changes I need to get used too, with the biggest being that they take the patient down much earlier. In the past I would go to his room at about 6:30am, and have about an hour with him before they took him. Today I got to his room at about 6:30am and he was already gone. I asked about the time he was taken and was told they took him down to the pre-op area at 5:30am, and that after the surgery he would be going to the PACU for recovery and that we shouldn't expect to see him until sometime after 11:30am, at the soonest. I thought, "Wow! That's a change." His surgery went well, and because his wounds aren't completely ready yet, they didn't want to put on the Integra, which is a bio-synt...

Today was an amazing day, for all of us, and especially for Jason. He not only woke up on the 5th floor today, he had other great things happen. First, he was visited by the Commandant of the Marines (pictures were taken). This wasn't to deliver his Purple Heart, though it was discussed, it was a chance for him to simply check on Jason and see how he was doing. Prior to the Commandant leaving the hospital Linda and I showed up and I got a chance to speak with him. I asked him if he would come back early next week for the Purple Heart presentation, as David will be here, and that would be something important to Jason. (Actually, Jason had told the Commandant that he would like it to be done on Sunday, because he thought David was coming on that day - when I heard this I ran after him and spoke with him to give him the correct day David was arriving.) The Commandant said he would be back either Monday or Tuesday next week, to present it to Jason. And this wasn't the only big thin...

Jason started the day on a rough note, with his pain level bouncing around a bit, and there seemed to be somewhat of a struggle to get it on an even keel. By late morning he was doing a little better, and his doctor came in to speak with Jason, and since we were there, with us. She said that Jason was now pretty much no longer "sick" and that all of the infection was gone, and his wounds were showing real strong signs of healing up, just like they should. Up until now, he had an NG-tube going into his stomach, as well as a feeding tube going down just past his stomach. The doctor wanted to remove the NG-tube, and Jason agreed to doing this. (A little side bar - Jason was kept involved with just about every aspect of his treatment and any time anything happened they would discuss it with Jason first, and seemed to only do it if he agreed to it). The decision was also made to move Jason to the 5th floor, and he was to go back to the room that has been held for him, for the past...

It is beginning to look like progress is coming along, though it is at a price. They were able to go in and quickly do a clean out of his wounds. The down part is that they did have to remove some tissue this time, though it was more precautionary than anything else. Jason has had a continued "redness" in one area, and though the doctors did not find any infection it was felt that they needed to remove a small amount and see if they could find out why there was an obvious irritation there. Otherwise it all went as expected. After the surgery Jason had to deal with the pain again, and they decided they wanted to try acupuncture. Jason wasn't too pleased with it, but it does seem to have helped with pain control. Over the next couple of days his doctor wants to get him to start eating a bit more, and start to work his way away from what they call TPN (nutrients going directly to the blood stream). Jason's mood was still a bit subdued when I was with him this afternoon...

Today was a different kind of day, in that Linda and I took Stacy to the White House for their annual egg roll. Stacy had a great time and wore us out pretty well. We did get to see the Obama family, though only from a distance. They had all kinds of costumed characters around and Stacy was having a ball. The Marines arranged for our transportation to and from the event, which I was glad to see, as I really wasn't looking forward to driving in Washington, D.C. On the trip home I did my best to keep Stacy awake, but she finally succumbed to fatigue, but not until after she got to speak with mommy for a couple minutes. Linda went to go visit with Jason, after we got back and I took Stacy to day care, where Jackie already was. When I finally made it over to see him he looked pretty good, and was dealing with the pain, even though at times he was very uncomfortable. I think he really enjoyed the fact that he didn't have to make a visit to the O.R. today, and it gave him an extra ...

Today began with a 6:30am visit with Jason, and I found him without the breathing tube. The day had begun on a good note. I stayed and visited with Jason, for a couple of hours, and I believe he was happy to have me there, even though he was still unable to speak. It takes a day or so for the effects of the tube down your throat to wear off, but none-the-less we were able to communicate. His swelling has gone down considerably, all over, and that was one of those things that the doctors were waiting to see. He had also been taken off some of the pain medication and he was able to remain stable, though he was a little uncomfortable and experiencing some phantom pain. A little later in the morning mom was able to head on over and spend a little time with him too. Easter Baskets filled with thoughtful gift cards, toys and goodies came in a couple of days ago, from the Livermore/Pleasanton Military Families Organization; Linda's parents sent a couple of large stuffed bunnies; and, St...