First things first. Gavin is doing really well. It's been almost three weeks since the surgery and he is just as happy as ever. The minor issues that we were concerned about after the surgery have taken care of themselves. I took him back for a follow-up with the surgeon today and it was uneventful. The surgery didn't throw off Gavin's development in any way, and he is getting better at sitting up on his own. He is also rolling and scooting backwards, so we can no longer trust him to stay put when we leave the room. Christmas decorating will be interesting this year!
We've had a lot going on at our house, and I haven't really felt like concentrating on blogging, so I've been negligent lately. I'm going to try to do a few blogs soon about what's been on my mind lately, but here's a quick recap of what we've been up to in the last few weeks:
My parents came up a couple days before Gavin's surgery, and as long as we had the extra hands, we decided to blow insulation into our attic. It needed to be done very badly and there was no other time to do it, so we did it the day before surgery. 'Cause that's how we roll. That same day, right on cue, the floor drain in our basement backed up. (It happens every once in a while--always at the most inconvenient times.) So while Gavin was in surgery, Jeff was on the phone with a plumber. The drain got fixed (hopefully for good this time) and we were able to concentrate on taking care of Gavin.
My parents stayed through the start of the next week and then my brother and his family came for a visit the next weekend. We had a fun time with them and the cousins always love to see each other.
Since then, we've been taking a break from projects and we're concentrating on every-day stuff. It's been really good because I've been feeling disorganized and really "out-of-it" for a while. Hopefully the cloudiness in my head will continue to fade and I'll be able to relinquish my self-proclaimed title of "World's Worst Kindergarten Mom." More on that later...
Monday, November 21, 2011
One Thing I'm Thankful For: A Late Thanksgiving Post
One of the things I have been exceedingly thankful for over the last year is my friends. I am always grateful for the wonderful people that God has put in my life, but have been particularly aware of these blessings in the last year. I have been itching to publish these pictures to illustrate my point, so ladies, I hope you don't mind!
I love this picture. It was taken a little over a year ago at a baby shower. Can you guess the common denominator? (Hint: Look at the ladies on the left.) Yep, all seven of us were pregnant, and we were standing in order of our due dates. There were two other women at the shower, and they had had babies within the last year, so we can't blame them for not jumping on that bandwagon. Some of these women I know well; others I am just getting to know, but I can't tell you how grateful I am to have these friends to encourage me and bless me as we raise our kids together.
Here is another picture that I will cherish forever. This was taken on the day we dedicated Gavin. We were privileged to have two other families dedicate their children in the same service. These families are not just people who happen to go to the same church, they are families that laugh with us, love us, and support us. These ladies are two of my closest friends, and I am so glad that these children, who are less than a month apart, will be growing up together.
So much to be thankful for!
Here is another picture that I will cherish forever. This was taken on the day we dedicated Gavin. We were privileged to have two other families dedicate their children in the same service. These families are not just people who happen to go to the same church, they are families that laugh with us, love us, and support us. These ladies are two of my closest friends, and I am so glad that these children, who are less than a month apart, will be growing up together.So much to be thankful for!
Sunday, November 6, 2011
At Home
Thursday night was another good night in the hospital, so we felt good about going home on Friday. We got the ball rolling for discharge as soon as possible in the morning, but the pharmacy held us up and we didn't leave until almost noon. We were so glad that we hadn't tried to leave the night before.
Gavin has been doing very well at home. He slept a lot the first day, but is getting back to a more normal amount already. He is off pain meds for the most part. The boys have enjoyed having grandparents around to entertain them while Jeff and I take care of Gavin and catch up on things from the short time we were away. I've enjoyed having grandparents around to help with cooking, cleaning, and running errands.
Gavin has had a couple of small issues that we think will be resolved soon, but we'd love prayer for them in the meantime. Every once in a while, he spits up small amounts of blood. We called Dr. Saltzman, and he said that it could be due to the tube that was down Gavin's throat during surgery, but we should keep and eye on it. Also, he occasionally wakes up suddenly, crying like he's in pain. These episodes don't generally last long enough for the Tylenol we give him to kick in, so I'm not sure what causes them or what makes them go away. Hopefully these things will just resolve themselves soon.
Gavin has been doing very well at home. He slept a lot the first day, but is getting back to a more normal amount already. He is off pain meds for the most part. The boys have enjoyed having grandparents around to entertain them while Jeff and I take care of Gavin and catch up on things from the short time we were away. I've enjoyed having grandparents around to help with cooking, cleaning, and running errands.
Gavin has had a couple of small issues that we think will be resolved soon, but we'd love prayer for them in the meantime. Every once in a while, he spits up small amounts of blood. We called Dr. Saltzman, and he said that it could be due to the tube that was down Gavin's throat during surgery, but we should keep and eye on it. Also, he occasionally wakes up suddenly, crying like he's in pain. These episodes don't generally last long enough for the Tylenol we give him to kick in, so I'm not sure what causes them or what makes them go away. Hopefully these things will just resolve themselves soon.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Hospital, Day 2
What a difference a day makes! Yesterday, Gavin slept the entire day in between pokes, checks, and medicine doses. He slept well last night also. This morning, he woke up ready to eat and after a bottle, he was ready to face the world. He was wiggling, reaching for toys, and he even gave us a smile--something we hadn't seen the day before. After Gaivn's chest x-ray, Dr. Saltzman stopped by, reviewed the x-ray, checked Gavin's fluid drainage, and suprised us by saying that things looked so good he could probably go home today.
A doctor came by in the early afternoon to remove the drainage tube. He ordered another x-ray for 6:00 and told us that Gavin could be discharged after that or we could stay the night if we were more comfortable doing that. We hadn't even held Gavin until the tube was out--we'd been givng him bottles of pumped milk instead of breastfeeding (And I never want to see my pump again.), so we thought we should work on that a little bit before going home. We also know how slow discharge can go, and we didn't want to arrive home at 9 or 10 and have to get settled and figure out how to take over medication dosing, etc. while we were half asleep. So we opted to spend the night and Gavin will be discharged in the morning.
Praise God everything is going so smoothly!
A doctor came by in the early afternoon to remove the drainage tube. He ordered another x-ray for 6:00 and told us that Gavin could be discharged after that or we could stay the night if we were more comfortable doing that. We hadn't even held Gavin until the tube was out--we'd been givng him bottles of pumped milk instead of breastfeeding (And I never want to see my pump again.), so we thought we should work on that a little bit before going home. We also know how slow discharge can go, and we didn't want to arrive home at 9 or 10 and have to get settled and figure out how to take over medication dosing, etc. while we were half asleep. So we opted to spend the night and Gavin will be discharged in the morning.
Praise God everything is going so smoothly!
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Surgery Day
Right now Gavin is sleeping amidst tubes, wires and monitors, and he is minus one bronchopulmonary sequestration. Our little boy has been a trooper today. Everything went well; he is on the mend; and we should be home in a few days.
We started the day at 3:00 AM, wich was the last time that I could feed him. He went back to sleep; I did not. We had to be up at 4:30 to leave the house at 5:00, so I was just thinking too much to sleep. I wasn't anxious, just alert. We got to the hospital at 5:30 and got checked in ok. I was concerned that Gavin would be screaming by the time he went into surgery, since he hadn't eaten since 3:00, but he did really well--he only fussed once in a while. We met with a variety of nurses, anesthesiologists, and the surgeon. Gavin charmed them all. At 7:30, it was time to send him off to surgery. He did very well and so did we. We really felt comfortable and at peace with the whole process.
The nurse called us once from surgery to let us know everything was going well. Before we knew it, Dr. Saltzman showed up to let us know that the surgery was done and Gavin was in recovery. He brought us a picture of the artery that had been feeding the mass. He was impressed with the size of it: "Almost the size of the aorta," he said. The tissue that he removed was about walnut size. Gavin hardly lost any blood though the surgery. The scope worked well, except that one hole had to be wideded at the end of the surgery to remove the mass.
Gavin had apparently been very "uncomfortable" (hospital-speak for in pain) when he got to recovery, but the nurses had given him morphine and had it under control by the time they brought us in. He's been getting regular doses of morphine since then. We can tell that he is in pain when each dose starts to wear off, so we'll keep that up a little longer, but by tonight, we might try something not quite as strong. The biggest discomfort, and the thing that will determine the lenghth of our hospital stay, is a tube draining fluid from his chest. When the fluid buildup slows down and the tube can be removed, Gavin should be able to go home. The doctors expect that to be in 2-3 days.
Thank you for your prayers, everyone. We are blessed by you all. Please continue to pray for a speedy recovery!
We started the day at 3:00 AM, wich was the last time that I could feed him. He went back to sleep; I did not. We had to be up at 4:30 to leave the house at 5:00, so I was just thinking too much to sleep. I wasn't anxious, just alert. We got to the hospital at 5:30 and got checked in ok. I was concerned that Gavin would be screaming by the time he went into surgery, since he hadn't eaten since 3:00, but he did really well--he only fussed once in a while. We met with a variety of nurses, anesthesiologists, and the surgeon. Gavin charmed them all. At 7:30, it was time to send him off to surgery. He did very well and so did we. We really felt comfortable and at peace with the whole process.
The nurse called us once from surgery to let us know everything was going well. Before we knew it, Dr. Saltzman showed up to let us know that the surgery was done and Gavin was in recovery. He brought us a picture of the artery that had been feeding the mass. He was impressed with the size of it: "Almost the size of the aorta," he said. The tissue that he removed was about walnut size. Gavin hardly lost any blood though the surgery. The scope worked well, except that one hole had to be wideded at the end of the surgery to remove the mass.
Gavin had apparently been very "uncomfortable" (hospital-speak for in pain) when he got to recovery, but the nurses had given him morphine and had it under control by the time they brought us in. He's been getting regular doses of morphine since then. We can tell that he is in pain when each dose starts to wear off, so we'll keep that up a little longer, but by tonight, we might try something not quite as strong. The biggest discomfort, and the thing that will determine the lenghth of our hospital stay, is a tube draining fluid from his chest. When the fluid buildup slows down and the tube can be removed, Gavin should be able to go home. The doctors expect that to be in 2-3 days.
Thank you for your prayers, everyone. We are blessed by you all. Please continue to pray for a speedy recovery!
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