Here is a photo of him at dinner (notice, no NJ tube!!!)...
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Happy Thanksgiving!
We sure do have a lot to be thankful for this year!!! I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! We just had a small Thanksgiving dinner here for the three of us. We decided to keep things low-key to let Mason have some extra time to recover from his surgery. Mason sat at the table with us and enjoyed talking to us through the entire meal. He talked so much there was a point where we couldn't eat anymore because he had us laughing so much.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Home Sweet Home!!!!
Mason came home today!! It is such a relief to be home, for all of us, including Buster (who was pretty lonely the last 5 days). Sorry it took us so long to post! Travis and I have been taking turns spending the night with Mason, only returning home to shower and feed Buster, etc. The computer in Mason's room was broken so we were unable to use it to post.
Mason hit his goal feeds on Saturday night and was doing great. Sunday morning the docs were getting the discharge paperwork ready we had a complication. It started on Saturday evening when Mason had still not moved his bowels yet so he was given a suppository. It literally only took about 2 minutes before his bowels moved, and moved, and moved, and moved.... By Sunday morning, Mason was moving his bowels once an hour which is far from normal from him. By Sunday night, Mason had lost about 12 ounces but was showing some positive signs of slowing down. They kept him overnight for observation and to make sure he did not dehydrate. He did great and was sent home this morning.
His lungs did great throughout his stay and remained clear. He never had any major desat's and was able to go without oxygen during the day. He stayed on oxygen at night as usual.
Tomorrow he will get his first synergis shot to help protect him from RSV. Next week we will follow up with his Pediatrician, Pulmonologist, and Pediatric Surgeon to make sure he is still doing well and gaining back the weight he lost.
Mason hit his goal feeds on Saturday night and was doing great. Sunday morning the docs were getting the discharge paperwork ready we had a complication. It started on Saturday evening when Mason had still not moved his bowels yet so he was given a suppository. It literally only took about 2 minutes before his bowels moved, and moved, and moved, and moved.... By Sunday morning, Mason was moving his bowels once an hour which is far from normal from him. By Sunday night, Mason had lost about 12 ounces but was showing some positive signs of slowing down. They kept him overnight for observation and to make sure he did not dehydrate. He did great and was sent home this morning.
His lungs did great throughout his stay and remained clear. He never had any major desat's and was able to go without oxygen during the day. He stayed on oxygen at night as usual.
Tomorrow he will get his first synergis shot to help protect him from RSV. Next week we will follow up with his Pediatrician, Pulmonologist, and Pediatric Surgeon to make sure he is still doing well and gaining back the weight he lost.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Recovery Update
Mason is still doing well recovering from his surgery. His biggest issue is still pain management. He is not as sore but is still requiring some morphine doses a couple of times a day to help him relax. He actually slept through the whole night last night and was comfortable with only Tylenol. Every day seems to be getting better. He was awake more today and even wanted to play a few times. He was also giving us a couple of smiles and talked to the RT that was giving him his breathing treatment tonight.
The docs started to feed Mason through his g-tube today. They started him slow at 5cc's per hour and will increase by another 5 every 6 hours. He is now up to 15cc's per hour. His goal is 33. If all goes well, he will achieve his goal tomorrow evening. It will be a little tough on him since he has never been fed into his stomach and it is still pretty small. So far so good, we are praying it stays that way. If not, the alternative is yet another surgery (for a GJ tube) and we don't want to go there!
Yesterday Mason was moved to the "floor" which is a normal patient room. Travis and I have been taking turns staying with him through the night to make sure he is doing ok.
The docs started to feed Mason through his g-tube today. They started him slow at 5cc's per hour and will increase by another 5 every 6 hours. He is now up to 15cc's per hour. His goal is 33. If all goes well, he will achieve his goal tomorrow evening. It will be a little tough on him since he has never been fed into his stomach and it is still pretty small. So far so good, we are praying it stays that way. If not, the alternative is yet another surgery (for a GJ tube) and we don't want to go there!
Yesterday Mason was moved to the "floor" which is a normal patient room. Travis and I have been taking turns staying with him through the night to make sure he is doing ok.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Surgery Update
Today's surgery was successful! Mason was taken back to the OR at 7:30am and they made the first incision at 8am. His surgery was finished by 11:30am. There was only one minor complication with his liver. His liver is much larger than normal, most likely because it grew and developed in his chest instead of his abdomen where it belonged. The left lobe of his liver actually covers his stomach which slowed things down a little bit. The surgical team was able to deal with this complication and complete the surgery successfully. The even better news was that Mason came right off the vent with no problems and did not even need supplemental oxygen. He will sleep with some on tonight like normal. He is such a strong little boy and is exceeding the doc's expectations again!
Mason's biggest issue now is pain management. He is currently on continuous Tylonol with Morphine doses as needed for comfort. Needless to say, he has been making good use of the morphine. It does seem to relax him enough to rest a little for a couple of hours before needing another dose. Mason is trying not to move too much because I am sure his belly is sore. He has been sucking away at his pacifier since he woke up from surgery. I don't think it has ever left his mouth so far! You can tell he needs it for comfort and to destress! His is crying a little when he moves or needs more pains meds and his voice is very weak and hoarse from the breathing tube.
Mason will remain in the PICU (for precautionary reasons only) tonight and will most likely be moved to the floor tomorrow. Unfortunately his stay in the PICU means that we will not be able to stay with him through the night. We will try to get some rest knowing that he is in good hands.
Mason will be without food for 24 hours post-op. Tomorrow, we can start to feed him some Pedialyte and the docs will hopefully be able to start his feeds.
Mason's biggest issue now is pain management. He is currently on continuous Tylonol with Morphine doses as needed for comfort. Needless to say, he has been making good use of the morphine. It does seem to relax him enough to rest a little for a couple of hours before needing another dose. Mason is trying not to move too much because I am sure his belly is sore. He has been sucking away at his pacifier since he woke up from surgery. I don't think it has ever left his mouth so far! You can tell he needs it for comfort and to destress! His is crying a little when he moves or needs more pains meds and his voice is very weak and hoarse from the breathing tube.
Mason will remain in the PICU (for precautionary reasons only) tonight and will most likely be moved to the floor tomorrow. Unfortunately his stay in the PICU means that we will not be able to stay with him through the night. We will try to get some rest knowing that he is in good hands.
Mason will be without food for 24 hours post-op. Tomorrow, we can start to feed him some Pedialyte and the docs will hopefully be able to start his feeds.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Surgery Time
We heard from the hospital today and Mason's surgery is scheduled for 7:30am, the first one of the day. We have to have him checked in by 6:30am. We are expecting the surgery to last 4 to 5 hours since it is an open procedure and requires a partial new incision. Most of the time they can use the old CDH repair incision, but since Mason's repair was on the right side and his stomach on the left, he will require a new incision. We will update the blog as soon as we have a chance tomorrow. It may not be until later tomorrow night. We appreciate all of your prayers for Mason! We are praying that his surgery goes well with little or no complications!
Mason has been doing well for the last couple of weeks. He loves to stand up in our laps with our hands under his arms for support. He can bear all of his body weight for long periods of time now. Mason has also started to sit up by himself for short periods of time in the last couple of days. He sits leaning forward with his hands holding himself from falling forward. It is so cute to watch him because after 20 or 30 seconds, he topples over. He sure looks like he is proud of himself though! Once we can capture this on film (it will be a challenge) I will post it in his photo gallery.
Mason has also become quite the talker. He loves to babble! See below.....
Mason has been doing well for the last couple of weeks. He loves to stand up in our laps with our hands under his arms for support. He can bear all of his body weight for long periods of time now. Mason has also started to sit up by himself for short periods of time in the last couple of days. He sits leaning forward with his hands holding himself from falling forward. It is so cute to watch him because after 20 or 30 seconds, he topples over. He sure looks like he is proud of himself though! Once we can capture this on film (it will be a challenge) I will post it in his photo gallery.
Mason has also become quite the talker. He loves to babble! See below.....
Monday, November 5, 2007
Moooo!!!
Mason has had a good couple of weeks. Aside from another clogged tube today, everything has been going well.
On Halloween we dressed him up as a cow. He hated it at first, but then I think he enjoyed it later. We stayed home and took some pictures of him outside before the trick-or-treaters came. We only had 8 kids this year, go figure after I bought enough candy to feed an army!
He has developed so much over the last couple of weeks. He will now hold in his own pacifier when he sits or lays on his back. He will also grab toys with both hands and hold them for a while and try to bring them to his mouth. Sucking his hands and fingers keeps him busy for long periods of time. He also likes to stand up with support underneath his arms. He loves to talk and he is starting to making laughing sounds. We checked a development book and he is hitting almost all of the 4-month old milestones. We think that this is absolutely amazing given that he was born 7 weeks premature and spent his first 3 months of life in a hospital (most of the time on drugs for sedation and pain). He is truly amazing!
We also have a Noah update! We are happy to report that he had his g-tube and Nissen wrap surgery today and everything went well. Aside from being sore, Noah is doing great and resting up!
On Halloween we dressed him up as a cow. He hated it at first, but then I think he enjoyed it later. We stayed home and took some pictures of him outside before the trick-or-treaters came. We only had 8 kids this year, go figure after I bought enough candy to feed an army!
He has developed so much over the last couple of weeks. He will now hold in his own pacifier when he sits or lays on his back. He will also grab toys with both hands and hold them for a while and try to bring them to his mouth. Sucking his hands and fingers keeps him busy for long periods of time. He also likes to stand up with support underneath his arms. He loves to talk and he is starting to making laughing sounds. We checked a development book and he is hitting almost all of the 4-month old milestones. We think that this is absolutely amazing given that he was born 7 weeks premature and spent his first 3 months of life in a hospital (most of the time on drugs for sedation and pain). He is truly amazing!
We also have a Noah update! We are happy to report that he had his g-tube and Nissen wrap surgery today and everything went well. Aside from being sore, Noah is doing great and resting up!
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