New York Steak and Baked Potatoes

thats what Cameron ordered for dinner, along with bacon and mandarin oranges. I'm afraid that he is going to be very dissappointed in his menu options when he gets home. Maybe we can talk Aunt Terri Grandma into staying forever at least then someone would cook!

Cam had therapy twice today and with the help of a walker and a little assistance from the therapist he was able to stand and take a few steps! Hayden got to play at Physical Therapy too!

Mr. Nate came to play today! This kid and Cameron make a crazy pair I'm scared of when they are teenagers, lets hope they didn't listen to the stories their dads tell about when they were growing up together!

Not the best picture of Cameron, but cute of Hilary. We wanted him to hold still for one picture with Hil but he was in his wheel chair and was not going to hold still! It was a sad goodbye to Hilary today, she goes into the MTC tomorrow headed for the Rochester, New York Mission. We are going to miss her so much but know she will be a great missionary, the people in New York are lucky to be getting her for 18 months.


Grandpa Heap is going home tomorrow too. Tonight he brought Cam a bag of suprises. One thing he brought was a stuffed Elephant. GPa said that the elephant reminded him of Cameron because it is the STRONGEST animal, just like Cam is the STRONGEST kid! Thanks Grandpa, we will miss you.

Cameron still throws everything from his bed when he is done with it.

An empty milk carton just hit my foot!

He says he has to throw things because he can't walk.

I say, FAIR ENOUGH!

Colby got to check out of school early today to ride to the hospital with Gma and Hayden and I. He was so excited to get out early, he told me that he prayed all day that he would get to check out early!! Colby is an amazingly smart kid. I can't wait to see the great things he will accomplish in his life.

Tomorrow we start a pretty regimented schedule of therapy.

It's a good thing.

It means Cameron is getting better!

Ok, so I better end this post, Master Cameron is calling me!

the first full day....

KIDS ARE AMAZING! Cameron is AMAZING!
Yesterday Cam had a long hard day. He didn't sleep well the first night because he was being so closely monitored and was being woken up about every hour. He has a huge team of doctors and nurses and we feel he is in the best hands. Dr. Morita the Neurologist is great we really like her and feel confident in her.
So yesterday Cam had to have a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) to get the fluid they needed to run the test to be sure that he had GB, he also had to have a pick line put in his arm. That was very stressful for him and he was really scared of getting another poke. He did GREAT though and came through great. He was really glad to have the IV out of his hand so that he could use his hands better. When he was coming out of the sedation he kept looking at me and saying "mom your face looks really really funny!"
Later in the day he had to have a swallow study to determine if his muscles in his throat were strong enough for him to eat. Had he not been able to pass this test he would have had to have a feeding tube put in. By this point he had not had anything to eat for over 48 hours and had not had much sleep at all, it took everything Mark and I and the Speech Therapists had to convince him to do the swallow study but he did it and passed with flying colors. HE COULD EAT!!! Nothing lifts the spirits like being told you can eat real food after almost 2 whole days of not being able to. When we got back to the room we looked at the room service menu and he ordered pancakes, french toast, oranges, orange juice. Between 4 and 7pm he ordered 4 times. Poor boy was starving and wanted to have a little bit of everything. So far he has kept up his appetite and even gets to order whole trays of dessert just for him!
Another boost to his day yesterday was that Colby and Jacob and Grandpa and Ryan and Julie and Nathaniel and Hilary and Emily came to visit. And Grandma and Grandpa Heap got here from Arizona. All of them arrived with a bag of surprises!! Cameron and Jake were so cute! Jake sat in the bed with Cam and they watched WIPE OUT videos on the computer. Colby drew Cam and really cool picture and told him he can't wait for him to be home so that they can stay up late talking in bed! Oh, and getting a Pirate Eye patch to wear because sometimes his eyes get wobbly and he sees two of everything. He thinks the eye patch is cool.
Last night I rode home with my parents and Mark stayed with Cameron. As much as I needed a good nights sleep and as much as I missed my baby Hayders and Colby and as much as I knew that Cameron was just fine with his dad, it was so so so so so hard to leave the hospital.
My head hit my pillow in my BIG SOFT very own bed and I was out like a light at 11:30 pm, my sweet baby was kind enough to wake up at 6am instead of his usual 8am. Oh the pain of not getting enough sleep!!!!!!!!!! I was able to go to Colby's last Jr. Jazz game and spend most of the day with my Hayder baby.

Before I end this day I have to tell the funniest part.

Cam had a really cool nurse named Dave, he was great with Cam. After Cam had woken up from the sedation and still had doctors hovering all around, he was really agitated and nervous about the next test and not having been able to eat, on top of just being in a lot of pain. Nurse Dave had the best idea of the day and asked Cam if he wanted to have a water fight with the doctors.

Cam said "SURE" as loud as his soft little voice could speak.

Dave handed him a syringe full of water and called in the resident doc. As soon as Dr. Buchanan walked in the door Cam nailed him with water!

Then Nurse Dave told Cam to trick Dr. Morita when he called her in. She walked in and Cam, in his softest voice, asked, "when can I eat?" she leaned in closer and said what honey? And Cam SOAKED her with water! IT WAS GREAT! Everyone got a good laugh out of that including the Doc. she was a really good sport. He squirted a few more people through the day and even got Ramon the Tech so that it looked like he peed his pants!

Gee-yon Bar-A

I would like to thank our friend Mike for this description of Guillain Barre Syndrome that he added to my comment section the other day. 

FYI: Guillain-Barré syndrome is a disorder in which the body's immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system. The first symptoms of this disorder include varying degrees of weakness or tingling sensations in the legs. In many instances, the weakness and abnormal sensations spread to the arms and upper body. These symptoms can increase in intensity until the muscles cannot be used at all and the patient is almost totally paralyzed. In these cases, the disorder is life-threatening and is considered a medical emergency. The patient is often put on a respirator to assist with breathing. Most patients, however, recover from even the most severe cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome, although some continue to have some degree of weakness. Guillain-Barré syndrome is rare. Usually Guillain-Barré occurs a few days or weeks after the patient has had symptoms of a respiratory or gastrointestinal viral infection. Occasionally, surgery or vaccinations will trigger the syndrome. The disorder can develop over the course of hours or days, or it may take up to 3 to 4 weeks. No one yet knows why Guillain-Barré strikes some people and not others or what sets the disease in motion. What scientists do know is that the body's immune system begins to attack the body itself, causing what is known as an autoimmune disease. Guillain-Barré is called a syndrome rather than a disease because it is not clear that a specific disease-causing agent is involved.


http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/gbs/gbs.htm

I also read that approximately 80% of patients have a complete recovery within a few months to a year.