Day 19

This makes no sense whatsoever.  His very first full day in the hospital and Josiah was all smiles.  He doesn’t even look sick, does he? With such joy on his face, he appears to be doing great.  He looks happy and well.  So why then is he refusing to eat or drink anything?

They brought a breakfast tray he didn’t touch, a lunch tray he wouldn’t even look at and a dinner tray he pushed aside.  I filled a cup with 3.5 ounces of water early this morning.  It’s still sitting on his bedside table. Each time I held it to his lips, he turned away.

At one point, I peeled an orange and started to eat it. Josiah glanced my way, so I offered him a small piece and he took it.  Everything else had been denied.  The orange he chewed and swallowed.  I was so excited, I fed him the rest of it.  I called for a wheel chair, had them unhook his IV and wheeled him down to the cafeteria to buy more oranges.  If he wanted oranges, I’d buy them all!

While browsing the selections, I discovered Meatball Sandwiches were on the menu.  Josiah loves meatballs.  I told the man behind the counter Josiah hadn’t eaten in 5 days and asked if he would hold the bun and put some meatballs in a to go container.  He loaded it up.  The cashier even had to call for a manager because she wasn’t sure how to charge for such a boat load of meatballs.

Let me tell you, the instant we got back to his room, Josiah devoured them all.  I lost count but there had to be 20 of them. Oh happy day!  After so many days of wanting nothing, this was huge.  I felt sure he’d drink some water after that, but with the IV fluids, he just must not feel thirsty.  I peeled another orange and offered it to him, but he turned away.

So, I guess it’s been a successful day to have gotten some food in his system.  We can only hope and pray tomorrow will be even better.  Rick is staying with Josiah tonight so I get a break.  I stopped at the store on my way here to load up on some of his favorite things. By the time I get back tomorrow he may be feeling well enough to eat them.

How will we know if he’s feeling better?  He’s been smiling like crazy so far. Definitely not what one would expect.  If we take him at face value, there is no real need for concern.  The physicians no longer need to run tests to figure out what is going on with him. Josiah is doing just great.