The Recovery

A cloud of doom had been lifted as quickly as it had descended upon us 8 months earlier. Daniel was going to live. I could almost feel the heavy mental and emotional weights lifting off my shoulders. A nurse summoned us to follow her into the recovery room. Still teary and extremely emotional, I walked into where Daniel was lying. Dr. Kothbauer stood next to Daniel's bed. He could see Wes and I had been crying, and he hugged us both. Daniel was uncomfortable and still very groggy, but Dr. Kothbauer, proud of what he'd accomplished, was anxious to show us how Daniel could wriggle his toes and his fingers. I stood there by Daniel's bed for several minutes just watching him, and whispering, "Thank you, Jesus" over and over.

A normal couple would probably have been very concerned about their child after a surgery as big as Daniel's was, but we felt hardly anything but joy and relief. Everything around us looked and felt different. I took a walk down the street to a corner deli for some lunch. Suddenly, my physical surroundings were visible to me and "in color". The upper east side apartments and shops were so charming. I felt the warmth of the sun and the nice breeze blowing through my hair. I really tasted food for the first time in months, and it tasted so good.

Daniel spent the next few days in ICU. Wes and I took turns staying with him each night through the rest of his hospital stay Once the anesthesia had worn off, we could see the effects of surgery much more clearly. Daniel had lost the use of his right arm. We were told this was quite normal - the medical staff told us the coordination in his arm and hand would, for the most part, eventually return. They had so much experience with patients like Daniel. They knew just how much morphine to give him, and when to start weaning him off of it. Daniel was being weaned off of morphine by the second day post-surgery. He was sitting up in a chair by the third day, and walking by the 4th. Daniel stayed in the hospital for about a week after surgery. Physical and occupational therapists came every day to work on his hand and arm coordination. They "forced" him to try using his arm as much as possible. They played games with him, and they strapped him onto a large tricycle in order to exercise his muscles (see the photos below). Daniel would not regain the coordination in his arm right away. But eventually most of it did return.

A few nurses there were quite fond of Daniel and of us. One nurse in particular, discovered Daniel's preference for hot dogs, and several times she came to work with a hotdog for Daniel from a vendor down the street. Beth Israel had a special play area on the roof (see picture below). We spent quite a bit of time out there, sitting in the sun and watching Daniel ride the tricycle around.

It seemed there was never a dull moment. Daniel was either exercising, walking, playing games, being visited by clowns, pet therapy and music therapy volunteers, or watching movies. Our time there sped by. Eventually, Dr. Kothbauer said he thought Daniel could check out of the hospital, but he still wanted us to stay close by for a few more days. We spent our last few days in New York City staying at the Ronald McDonald house together. We explored the city some more, and found some great places to eat. One place in particular, served lobster, cheap. Daniel loves lobster, so we ate there 2 or 3 times.

After Daniel had been released from the hospital, we visited Times Square Church (David Wilkerson's church). A friend from our church in McMinnville had sent Times Square Church an email, asking them to pray for us, and just letting them know we were there in New York. On the day of Daniel's surgery, we received a visit from a lady who attended this church. She brought us a home-cooked meal, and ended up visiting us almost every day we were there. Abby invited us to attend a Wednesday evening service with her. It turned out to be a very appropriate and fitting way to end our stay in New York, as our hearts were overflowing with thanksgiving to God for all He had done.