We have been moved up!

Today, we were moved out of the PICU and up to the patient rooms on the 6th floor! This is the final resting spot before going home! Gabe is no longer on any lines. The pic line was removed this morning. He still has the IV port in his scalp, in case they need it. They checked the vein and it is still good, although possibly not for long. Of course, he still has his saturation and blood pressure monitor as well as his leads measuring his heart rate but none of those are invasive.

We did get some bad news today. We had thought that since he had eaten well yesterday, that he would have no problem gaining weight. Weight is a big issue with heart babies. It is important that they consume so many calories daily. Well, Gabe decided that he would not eat well today. He would latch onto the bottle for a few swallows but then make faces and quit eating. Because of this they put in a feeding tube tonight. Hopefully, temporarily. To me, it looks as if his throat is sore from the ventilator and it hurts to swallow. We hope that this will change before going home. They taught me how to insert the tube through his nose, but it still makes me very nervous. I really am hoping that this will not be something I need to worry about once we go home. Regardless of this, he now has a full belly and is sleeping peacefully in his crib right beside me. He is such a sweet little angel.

Gabe's Busy Day

My little guy is exhausted! He is sleeping so soundly. Let me tell you about his busy day! We were moved to another pod this morning. There was another more critical baby moved in that needed immediate surgery. Gabe is doing so well that they put him in a less critical area where he shares a nurse with another baby. (He had his own nurse all to himself earlier). Right after they moved him, they extubated him. Yes- you heard right, extubated!! As in "removed his breathing tube!!" I thought that was a rather large victory, but oh no...Gabe didn't. He couldn't just stop there. He improved so much that he even got his chest tube, central line and an IV out of his shoulder. So all that is tied to him is his blood pressure monitor and his pic line. (They did keep an IV port in his scalp, in case they needed it. Oh- but he didn't stop there! He also, proceeded to try some pedialyte to see if he could keep it down. And he did! So a couple of hours later, he got an ounce of milk in a bottle. He did fantastic with that and followed up the rest of the night with more feedings. He really is such a strong little boy. Thank you for your prayers, everyone! Keep 'em coming! And while we are all praying...please take a minute to pray for all of the sick children in the PICU. They are all in similar if not worse situations as Gabe. They need all the prayers they can get. Lets pray that they all get to go home and be with their families soon enough.

Below are some pictures of the little guy and some of his victories.

He's settled and stable!

My little munchkin was placed in his pod this afternoon at the PICU. He is very stable and very swollen. He didn't seem so bad initially, but as the evening progresses his little face and body gets fuller and fuller. They say it is only temporary. It is the body's reaction to what it's been through. He is doing incredibly well. (Told ya he was tough!) His vitals are fantastic and they are slowly weaning him from his breathing tube. There is minimal drainage from his chest tube and if it continues this way, then he may be rid of that soon enough as well. That is the worst- the chest tube. I can barely stand to look at it. It looks so uncomfortable.

Of course all of this fantastic news can always change in the blink of an eye so please continue to keep Gabe in your prayers. He is such a cutie!

Out of Surgery and in Recovery

Dr. Christian just came out. Gabe is doing great. He is stable and in recovery. He did really well. "No big surprises" (no little surprises, either- I asked). She said that he may have his ventilator removed tonight or tomorrow. We are now waiting for him to be moved to the PICU so that we can see him. It may be a while. The pod they had for him was given to another child that was critical. I will give you another update later. THANK YOU for your thoughts and PRAYERS. They were answered. Now lets pray for a good recovery and that he will be home soon!

First Update

The nurse just called. Gabe is stable and doing well. They had a problem getting his arterial lines in but everything is well now. They are in and Dr. Christian has completed the incision and is currently working on him. Keep him in your prayers.

Day of Surgery

Here we are in the waiting room waiting for our first update from the surgeon. After a futile attempt at sleep last night, Jeff and I were in Gabe's pod at 6 am this morning. They were running behind so they actually did not come for him until 8 am. We met with the anesthesiologists and they returned soon after to take him back. They allowed Jeff and I to walk with him up to the OR entry. They said we should get an update within an hour. So here we are...waiting.

Please, please if your reading this blog- pray for our little boy. He is so tiny and seems so fragile but yet he is the strongest person I have ever had the great fortune of loving. I would trade places with him in a heartbeat, but can't. Pray that the Lord guides him through all of this safely and that his guardian angel is right there holding his tiny hand.

I will post as soon as we hear from them.

Update for Tomorrow's Surgery

We were notified this afternoon that Gabe's surgery has been bumped up to 7 am. So he will now go first. Please, please pray for our little baby. We are terrified and nervous but ready to get on with it. I will keep the blog updated as they notify me during the surgery.