Jethro is 2 weeks old today, and he is doing well! Yesterday, he was doing good enough that we went home for the day and spent it with the other children. What a wonderful time of hugs and kisses and reading stories, and just being together. I miss them terribly.
Yesterday morning, they had taken him off the paralytic drug, and also lightened his sedation level. While we were gone, they pulled the dialysis catheter! This was placed so they could pull excess fluid off his belly post-op, and in case he would need dialysis. They also began a slow feed of Mama's milk!
This morning, Dr. Jensen (cardiologist), told Jethro he was going to have to work today. They are going to continue weaning off the vent (and if all goes well, he might possibly be off it today!), increase his feeding, and pull his pacer wires. My baby is going to look more like a baby, and a little less like a science experiment! His night nurse had also told me that even if the vent is still in, if some of his other paraphenalia is gone, I might be able to hold him tonight! What a lovely 2 week birthday gift that would be!
Jethro was also moving around a little this morning and while Dr. Jensen and I were talking, he opened his eyes! Haven't see those babies since Saturday...what a sight for this tired Mama!
Just about this time 2 weeks ago, we were finding out that Jethro was in trouble and we were going to have to induce and get him here...things were scary and uncertain. Today, things are still uncertain, but there is hope and joy that out-weigh the uncertainty.
Prayer requests:
- For Jethro's lungs to do their thing, so he can get off the vent.
- Babies who have been vented often have an aversion to anything in their mouth, making feeding by breast or bottle almost, if not completely impossible. Please pray that Jethro will take to nursing just like his big brothers did!
- We are starting to have problems with IV lines. Jethro has some burns on one arm caused by the IV, and they had to pull a "new" line last night because of severe bruising ~ and wanting to avoid more burns. He's not done needing IV meds, so we need to have some access. He does still have his central line, but that was placed a week ago, so I don't know how much longer it will last. Please pray that we have some good IV access for as long as it's needed.
- Finances are more than tight, so prayers for God's provision would be greatly appreciated as well. Those of you who have had extended stays in the hospital know what an extra strain that can put on things.
- They did an echo on Jethro's heart today. He has a clot forming above the Tricuspid patch. It's not anything that is alarming to the drs, but they are concerned. Jethro is too little for a "clot buster" med, so they are going to give him a blood thinner to try and encourage his body to absorb the clot. If the clot gets loose, it would likely go to his brain, which would not be good. Please pray that it would be absorbed and not cause any problems.
Posts
Thanks for the update, I'm so thankful that he's doing so well! We will continue to pray for your Father and mine to provide for your needs. :-)
ReplyDeleteParis
Tracy~It is such a blessing to hear all the good progress for Jethro! I will continue to pray for him and specifically for the ones you've posted here.
ReplyDeleteMay you continue to see God's work!
Lots of love,
Sommer
Dear Tracy,
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad to hear Jethro is doing well! There are many kids who have been on the vent who end up being bottle fed. Fewer who're breastfed, but there are some of those too. My son is an example...he's had two oepn heart surgeries and both times has been able to resume oral feeding. We've never gone home on a feeding tube, praise God! It might require a lot of encouraging and hard work to get him back to eating. You can definitely ask the hospital for a speech therapist to help him resume feeding and give advice, that helped us a lot.