Kirk Update 2.8.09, Mid Day

Hello!

I've really about had it with doctors. In direct contrast with everything we've been told in the last 24 hours, Kirk is awake and doing much much better. Not great, but still better.

Roffelle (I've been spelling it Raphael...I didn't know!) was there all night...ALL NIGHT...reading scripture to Kirk and keeping watch over him. The nurses told him that we had left minutes before, so this is around 1am last night. So he starts reading, and Kirk coughs and opens his eyes a crack. Roffelle is shocked and asks Kirk if he's there. Kirk raises his right hand for their handshake/snap they do. Freaking adorable.

It was after this that Roffelle called Tiffany. She sang to him on the phone and told him she loved him. He scratched out a weak "I love you too". Roffelle said he was ready to run up and down the halls high five-ing nurses. They spent the rest of the night in and out of sleep and watching anime cartoons.

I got there early this morning. Close to 9:00. Kirk was awake and greeted me with eye contact. He's not much for talking, but he'll respond sometimes with a nod. He's pretty grumpy as you might expect. His sole motivation for moving is to pull his oxygen mask off. Once he wasn't content to just have it off his mouth. He kept tugging at it until Roffelle and I took it off of him. Other times he'll try messing with his IV needle and you have to swat his hand away.

Nurse Kathy is his day nurse. She came in to wash Kirk and change his bed. Let me tell you, she quickly recruited us to help move his body. He weighs SO MUCH when he can't help. It took all three of us multiple tries to slide him 2 inches back to line his hips up with where they are supposed to be for his bed. This is the real clincher for whether or not Kirk will return home or be in a hospice. Without 3-4 trained dudes on call, the Lawrences will not be able to move him.

Then Kathy got out a dentist-like sucker device to catch any phlegm/blood Kirk could cough up. After a couple tries his breathing became much more normal. No more Darth Vader.

Diana and the rest of the family and came a little while after. They didn't skip finding clean clothes and a shower before coming like I did. Heh. They were just SO PLEASED to see Kirk with his eye open and out of his semi-coma. Tiffany sang a little to him while Nikki rubbed his head. Tim and Deborah unloaded hugs and kisses.

Roffelle and I inspected the TV in his room and confirmed that there were video inputs on the back. Against the wishes of the nurse staff we stepped out to the Lawrence house to get a dvd player and some movies.

While we were gone, Tiffany called and requested food for her and the baby. We stopped to pick up subs on the way back. Then, once we got back to the room, we had to have someone hold the subs in the hallway before Kirk saw or smelled them and wanted to eat them. The nurses have approved ice chips and POSSIBLY...popcicles. So we'll work on that first.

Before eating our lunch in the cafeteria we got the dvd player hooked up and started Trading Places for him. He maintains pretty good focus on the TV though he occasionally falls asleep a little.

I'm convinced that Kirk's doctors have no idea what to do. His indian neurologist came in the morning. He smiled and shrugged at me as he walked in. Hell, I can do that. Where's my PHD? I think part of the problem is just inexperience with cancer patients that are so young. They tell us that by all science and logic, Kirk should be steadily on his way out. They've discussed the possibility of doing further testing/scanning to determine the progress of the tumors, but so far have concluded that there is no point since they won't be doing chemo treatment, etc.

Kirk is very confortable and well medicated, but if he isn't going to require the full services of the hospital for testing, he will get moved to a hospice. I was sorta hoping we could skip that step, if for no other reason, for the sake of the Lawrences emotions. They need to see Kirk at peace and not fighting and strugling to stay alive.

It's nap time, but I'll be back at the hospital later and will give a new update late tonight.

-John