I’ll take progress anyway we can get it. After noting that Char was sitting up in bed with the head of the bed raised, and that it didn’t bother her, they decided to get her up today. She complained about it and I think I know two or three new swear words, but she was on her feet for several seconds and sat in a recliner for an hour or so. As long as she’s not moving, she’s not in too much pain.

She can also move the right side of her body with less pain. It’s more like the pain you get the day after a hard workout now. And this sounds selfish, but the benefit to me is that it’s eased up enough that I can sit on the edge of the bed with her, and damn I needed the hug I got today.

The other benefit is that touching of any kind creeps the teenager out.

There’s a 50-50 chance that she’ll have to face a physical therapist tomorrow. I’m not sure what that will entail but the nurse warned she might have to try to take a few steps. I think I might be more freaked out about that than Char is. I’ve broken my leg before, and there’s no way I could have walked on it a week later. She’s got a brace on the leg but still, it’s broken and the idea of bearing weight and how much that’s going to hurt has me mentally cringing on her behalf.

I will not be allowed anywhere near the room while this is going on. I’ve already been warned.

Kevin did much better seeing her today, but he got out of bed a little while ago and came in here. I think he was hoping to crawl into bed with me while I was already asleep. If I was asleep, he wouldn’t get turned around and sent back to his own bed. But right now the rules aren’t sticking and I let him stay. It’s interesting how much you can learn from a kid when he’s sleepy and his defenses are down. It’s been a long time since he’s been willing to cuddle up to me and talk.

And I get that I need sleep and I’m not going to do my family any good if I don’t get some soon. Because of the kids I absolutely cannot medicate myself to make that happen. The kid sleeping in my bed is a prime example. The kids are just as stressed out as I am and they might need me in the middle of the night. I’ll get more rest when Char is home and until then I’ll suck it up and occasionally post at three in the morning when I’m tired enough to be overly sentimental.

I love my wife. If anyone has a problem with it, I’ll bend over while they pucker up.

Today Char was the most awake and alert that she’s been so far, and the swelling was down to a minimum so I didn’t think it would be a problem for our oldest son to visit. I still probably over-warned him about her facial injuries but she was still a little swollen last night and I worried it would upset him. I forgot that because of my age I am now stupid beyond belief, and he informed me that she looks just fine. His biggest concern was about how much the airbag burns bother her.

They spent about half an hour together before she fell back asleep. She managed to carry on a reasonable conversation with him and he didn’t seem bothered by all the stops and starts of it. I’m still not sure if that’s because she’s fatigued or if she’s in more pain than what the drugs they’re giving her can handle. But he was able to go home with his grandfather and let his brother and sister know that I’m not lying. She really is getting better. I’m not sure I’ll let him go back tomorrow because this afternoon she had the rods put into her leg and she’s back to being completely wiped out. I’m not sure if she’ll be up to trying to put on a good face for him. We’ll see.

The surgery went well, but she was still very groggy from it when I left tonight. Yeah, I’ll go home every night now. It’s what she wants. I’m not as freaked out as I was a few days ago, but when I am there I still sit in the corner while she’s asleep to watch her breathe. It occurred to me this evening that I probably do that more often than I realize even when she’s fine and home asleep in our own bed. And when she reads this she’s probably going to find that a little creepy.

Surprise, angel, now you know what I do when I can’t sleep. It’s not what you thought it was, is it?

There’s a long line of people who want to see her so I’m hoping that she’s not as groggy tomorrow and that she’s given enough medication for the pain to be able to start handling people. If she’s still in a lot of pain then I have to start getting more aggressive on her behalf because someone needs to assess her pain levels and do something about it. I have high hopes that won’t be necessary, though.