Eventful Day

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

Romans 8:18

Our little man had quite an eventful day today. Last night’s nurse said Koal was pretty fussy through the night (again, still hungry, they think), and the morning nurse said he’d been sad for nearly an hour by the time I walked in his room. When the doc came by he was SHOCKED that the night doctor had not let the kiddo eat like he had discussed yesterday, so he got the nurse to thaw some milk so Koalton could try a bottle.  Minutes after the doctor walked out of the room, another nurse came in to check on us and she noticed Koal’s drainage tube from his heart was not working correctly and had actually slipped out at some point overnight and was not fully in place.  This led to quite a frenzy to remove it as quickly as possible and get an x-ray to make sure there was no air around his heart or lungs due to the tube coming out. Praise God the x-ray was clear and there was no sign of pneumothorax or any issues with the heart. The surgical nurse that removed Koals drain tubing so promptly also assured me that it was not a big deal that it came out a day earlier than they were planning – it clotted fine and there was no blood drainage issue at all. Not long after the drainage tube was removed, the nurses also removed Koal’s nasal canula as his addition oxygen flow had been discontinued and he was doing great just breathing room air on his own.  (Yep, that’s TWO sets of tubes GONE within an hour!).  Koal also got a chance to eat today! Unfortunately, he didn’t want much to do with the first attempt; in fact, he had a HUGE poo in his pants and then fell promptly to sleep.  The occupational therapist came by to watch him try to eat during our second try, but he was too tired to wake up to try much more than a few sucks and head back to dream land.  The OT DID say she could clearly tell he was not having difficultly breathing or swallowing, and that his vocal chords and coordination all seem to be in excellent working order, so there should be no problems physically when he DOES decide to eat.  It just may be a short matter of time before he learns to suck, swallow and breathe in the correct way (and stay awake long enough to care!) while eating. SO, the lack of interest in gulping down the bottle earned him a feeding tube in his nose.  The hope is that by feeding him that way, along with continuing to try to get him to take a bottle, he will eventually feel hungry and have more of a desire to eat on his own.

Two tubes out…one tube in…we’re headed in the right direction!  Please pray that the little peanut would catch on to eating from a bottle (and eventually nursing) quickly and easily over the next few days. Pray for Adam and I and the nurses as we patiently try to urge him to take a bottle and learn to breathe, suck and swallow correctly.  Learning to eat is often the most difficult and longest part of the recovery process for a newborn heart baby – especially one that is nearly 2 weeks old and had never eaten.  Pray for God’s grace and peace as we continue on this journey, and for patience and perseverance as we press on through this specific task.

We’ve also been told numerous times today that tomorrow is our transfer day and we will be moved from the PICU to the heart floor.  I’ll believe it when it happens (and God’s timing is perfect – so I’m not getting my hopes up! HA!)…but please pray that it actually DOES happen soon.  We are very ready to be in a private room, where we can actually stay with Koal and not have to wonder if there will be an available Ronald McDonald room for us at night, and where we can hold him, be with him anytime, focus on feeding him privately and getting him in a more consistent eating and sleeping routine.  We will travel home tonight since there is not a room for us (maybe get some clean clothes!), and we are praying that tomorrow Koalton will have his own room on the heart floor.

We can’t thank you enough, again, for all your amazing prayers. We continue to have such peace and comfort about this time, and we feel God’s presence and healing hands all around us.  Your encouragement and support bless us abundantly daily, and we are so thankful for each and every one of you.