Thanks to Joslyn (the dance therapist) and a special pain cocktail Menschi did a little bit better today. He reached his max again today for narcotics, but was able to at least finally fall asleep.
Resperdal calmed Menschi's nerves some and he wasn't as irritable. He also really liked the dance therapist who came in and brought a calming presence into the room (dimming lights and soothing music); she was able to show me what to do to comfort him more (as he continued to say "I don't want Mommy, I want Daddy"). What do you say when you're child's in pain? He wanted me to reassure him verbally (Mommy TALK!), which is really not so intuitive for me to do so for 5 hours!
Oxygenation improved today(he didn't hold his breath as much during the pain) and I attribute a lot of that to Joslyn (dance therapist). She said, "instead of saying "shhhh", encourage vocalizations (increases deep breaths) by saying "tell me more."
Interestingly, the other vital sign they watch mainly for pain is his heart rate, which hovers around 200 when he's really in agony. It seemed to me based on see that the pain was just as intense as yesterday, but he was able breathe a little deeper. I'm grateful to be in a hospital that includes a holistic approach to pain management.
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