Update; Support

(Original appeared April 17, 2016)

Today is a good day. The Jakester made it through the night just fine. He is now a week old and we are very grateful for that! Up to now he has had lines running into his umbilical cord, one feeding things to him from the outside (vein), and one drawing things from the inside (artery). The arterial line cracked and they had to remove it. This means that they can’t read his blood pressure or draw blood tests as easily. Now They do pressures by old fashioned cuff and draw blood with heel sticks. Sad but he’s a trooper and will just have to suffer with it. Overall, his numbers look good. Kidney function was a bit of a worry but those numbers improve and he continues to wet his diaper like a champ. So that’s good. He still struggles a bit with the new ventilator called NAVA (see my earlier post) and needs help breathing often. But that’s expected at his age.
I do want to add that Deb and I attended church service this morning and received such a boost. It’s like adding kindling to a campfire – the flames are stoked and the fire burns hotter to last longer. We are so thankful to our family and our friends through all of this. Gifts, hugs, words… you name it. You have all inspired us to keep going. We read each and every comment posted and notice the “likes” on these journal entries, and even though we don’t necessarily respond, please know that they lift us up.
So I’ll end this entry by telling you that I’m staring at him at this moment, with his foot kicked up, tiny toes stretching, and am so thankful. -R