Not sure if this helps, but I have a pixljs that has a large lcd so I can pipe console commands there, which is what I use for exactly the issues you face (getting feedback for operations while disconnected).
You can also try using the built-in serial instead of the BLE serial so you would free up the radio.
Espruino is a JavaScript interpreter for low-power Microcontrollers. This site is both a support community for Espruino and a place to share what you are working on.
Not sure if this helps, but I have a pixljs that has a large lcd so I can pipe console commands there, which is what I use for exactly the issues you face (getting feedback for operations while disconnected).
You can also try using the built-in serial instead of the BLE serial so you would free up the radio.