I've finally sourced all materials for Al's gritty mix. But now my croton is drooping, and I'm hesitant to repot it because of too much shock.

Background: plant is in los Angeles by a window facing south. We only have north or south facing windows. Over July 4th weekend we were out of town for a few days and when I returned the plant was drooping. The soil was bone dry, I used a chop stick to check the bottom soil. So I watered (tap water) using the flood method till I saw some water escaping the drain hole. I then tilted the pot to remove as much perched water as I could. After that I used a qtip in the drain hole to wick/remove more perched water. Its in miracle grow potting soil. No addition fertilizer used.

This was a few days ago. The photo shows the bottom branches starting to perk back up. But the rest of the plant is still drooping. There's only been 2 leaves that dropped and I'd like to save the rest.

Other miscellaneous info; this window has a fan blowing in for circulation. Though that didn't seem to effect it before. Window a/c runs in other bedroom to cool the whole unit. Heat wave hit us the 4th and has been oscillating since. Window is usually open for air flow.

What can I do to help my croton bounce back? Obviously right now is not ideal time to repot, but once the croton gets better and specific tips to help mitigate shock; other than keeping roots wet, out of direct light for a couple weeks, and no dyna-grow fertilizer?

Thank you in advance. I'm excited to become a better caregiver for my plants!

- Tofu