Life is good

Life is good on 7C. Zach is in much better spirits, although he is still ornery at times. He just wouldn't be himself if he weren't. I think he is learning how to tell us about what he is feeling, and he is using words rather than tantrums to express it (thank God!).

He got to go to the playroom yesterday evening after we moved. That is some really good medicine!!! He was pretty uncomfortable, but getting up and moving around is all a part of getting better.

Zach in the wagon - tubes and wires in tow

Zach fixing me a cheeseburger

Lookout Picasso! You've got some competition! He was really worn out here and starting to hurt

Here's a funny that this picture reminded me of.  Yesterday when the doctor was examining him, Zach held up his foot and said, "I think you need to smell my foot!" What a funny boy!

They will be removing his middle chest tube in a few minutes I hope, so he will be much more comfortable. The middle tube is much stiffer than the other two and usually causes much more pain than the other two. They will give him some happy drugs for the procedure and he is ready for a nap, so I hope he will be able to get some rest.

The doctor told Zach that he had to go to the playroom and take his medicine, so hopefully he will heed doctor's orders. The doctor said there is no way to predict how long the drainage will take --- could be 3 days or 8 days. Quite a difference there. We'll take 3, thank you very much. Thank you for your prayers for a quick recovery.

Thanks for your prayers!

Just a quick note to let you know that Zach's disposition is much better (as of right now!) I could kiss a couple of nurses who advised us to step out for a while and get some lunch while they got him calmed down and playing. He seems like a different child! Thank you Lord for answering the prayers of our faithful friends!

 We are trying to wait patiently to be moved to a room.

Please keep the other families on the unit in your prayers. We met one family who has been in the PCICU for 4 months, since the birth of their daughter. They have relocated here to Charleston with their 3 year old son. Another baby just turned 2 weeks old and is having a hard time as he recovers from his first surgery. Please lift them up.

My sister-in-law has flown out to be with her family as her father, Dick Austin, is very sick in the hospital. Please pray for peace, comfort and healing.

Will update later if possible!

Keep praying!

So sorry that I haven't been able to update much. Zach demands (not really a strong enough word) a lot of attention, so when I get a break and can get to a computer I have to take care of necessities like eating and using the facilities (neither of which we can do while in PCICU).

I just realized that I never updated that they did not move us to a room yesterday. They said he had not gotten rid of enough of the fluid in his lungs yet. We are going to be moved sometime today. They are full on the floor but discharging one, so I figure it will be later this afternoon before they have our room ready. It will not be soon enough.

So far, surgery has been a piece of cake in comparison to dealing with a 4-year-old. He so desperately needs to feel some sense of being in control but there are very few things he can control right now. We are having some episodes that I think are what they call "ICU psychosis." We need a change of scenery and a remote control for the TV that works. What more control does a male need? So, please pray for him to behave and be easier to get along with.

He has developed chylous drainage, so we are starting on a fat-free diet. I'm not even going to think about how Zach will react at not being able to eat chicken nuggets. That would be another prayer request --- that he will be satisfied with what they will allow him to eat and that his chylous drainage would resolve quickly.

Gotta run and get back to help Bill as he deals with our Little Napoleon. Thanks for checking on us!

Baby steps

Last night after I made the post about the better mood, I returned to find Daddy struggling with a very, very grumpy Zach. He had all of his monitors beeping and beeping because he was so upset (heart rate up = blood pressure up = oxygen sats down = lots of beeping). Not pretty music to hear. The bad news is that Versed is not knocking him out --- its only making him a really mean drunk.

Here's a funny... one time yesterday, something started beeping and Zach slapped his hand across his forehead and said, "Oh, what now???"

At around 9:00pm we turned a corner and Zach conked out. We left to go back to "Mrs. D's Hotel" (as Zach calls it) to get some much needed sleep. We were a little apprehensive about leaving him, but apparently he slept all night. I think they finally got on top of the pain, making him much more comfortable. They also started giving him Benedryl for the itching which helped.

He woke up around 8:00am and actually smiled a couple of times! I can't tell you how much it blesses my heart to see that first post-op smile! That is good medicine for Mommy! He at a breakfast of Cheerios, bacon, fruit, and apple juice. Please pray for more smiles. I got a picture of him smiling but I have no way to download it yet. I hope to post some pictures soon.

In rounds, the doctor said that they will remove several of his tethers today and we will move to a room on the floor later. They said his lungs still look cloudy, but that will get better as he starts moving around more today and tt-ing and coughing more. So far his drainage output has been good and they will be taking out the one in the middle, which will make Zach more comfortable as this one is a very stiff tube.  His output will have to decrease a lot before they will remove the other two chest tubes.  Now that he is eating we will have to see if he will develop Chlyothorax or not, which is where the fats that he takes in cannot get drained away and collect in the chest cavity. Please pray that his body will be able to do its job on the drainage.

Thanks for all your prayers and encouragement! Mom and Dad are holding up pretty well but when they put us in a room, one of us will be staying with him at night. So, pray for good rest for us as we take turns doing duty.

Progress and maybe a better mood

Let me start out by saying that God has showered us with blessings --- as hard as this has been so far, I know that things could be way worse. Thank you for your prayers so far!

The only complication we are dealing with right now is the wet lungs. They are giving him a diuretic, so that will help him get rid of the fluid. He is on various pain meds (toridol, tylenol, morphine, and oxycodone I think) and he actually seemed more comfortable this afternoon as he slept. He ate a little bit, too. We are praying for a restful night!

We may be moved out to the floor tomorrow. He is slowly losing tubes and wires. He removed an IV this morning himself! Not too cool since they will have to replace it sometime soon. They also removed his foley, so I know that is more comfortable for him. He may freak out at tt-ing in his pull-up, though.

Thanks for checking in on us!

Don't you love technology?

So sorry for the gobbledy-goop that posted last night! Don't know what happened there...

So, the docs say that Zach is doing really well (kinda hard to tell it from the picture, huh?). He got off the vent really quick last night around supper time, I think. He didn't waste any time letting everyone know what was on his mind. Our nurse gave him a moistened mouth swab (little sponge on a stick) and he sucked the water out of it. That reminded him of something...

"I want a sucker... from the bank! Just go get me the van so I can drive to the bank!!! Now!!!"

He went on and on about that for a while. Then he said he wanted apple juice. Well, they like to go very slowly after surgery so we don't end up with a sick tummy. We moved to ice chips and then apple juice about 11:00pm or so. That appeased him enough that we were able to slip out and go back to the house for some rest. The nurse encouraged us to do so and I am really glad. We slept for about 6 good hours. Zach on the other hand slept about 2. His poor nurse! He is just so restless and uncooperative and in pain and itching (from the morphine) and "wants to go home now!!!"

Please pray for a few things:

• Zach has "wet lungs" which is normal but he needs to exercise his lungs and get rid of those fluids. It is causing him to run a fever which I'm sure is not helping him feel any better.
• pain management is a delicate dance. Pray they can find just the right combo of meds for Zach to be confortable.
• Pray that once he is comfortable he will be more cooperative.
• Pray that he can rest (everytime we mention sleep, nap, or rest he says "no, no, no, I don't want to sleep!)

There are not enough thanks for the prayers that are sustaining us now! Keep em coming!

Soooo sleepy!

We went in to see Zach for just a few minutes. The cardiologist said he looks great! He is starting to wake little by little. When he heard our voices he would turn his head but then drift back off to sleep. As he gets rid of the anesthesia and wakes up a little more they will get him off of the vent (remove the breathing tube), probably later tonight sometime.

We are getting ready to go back in and we can stay the rest of the day. Bill may stay with him tonight since we are not sure how he'll be as he wakes up during the night. He will want to know that Mommy or Daddy are there for sure.

Keep those prayer coming!