Thursday, July 23, 2009

July 22, 2009




Shannon and I had such a late night last night at the NICU that we slept in and almost missed the doctors rounds this morning. We sure have been burning the candle at both ends lately and we have got to start getting to bed a little earlier than midnight every night, yet here I am. We came in this morning just in time to hear the days plans. They had been doing some very aggresive airway suctioning throughout the night and into the morning, dislodging a large amount of secretions. An early chest x-ray showed no improvement, so it is time for the bronch. They continued doing aggressive suctioning of his airway throughout the day. However, this was not enough to get that stubborn left lung re-inflated. So at 3 p.m they took one more chest x-ray to see if the lung had improved at all and unfortunately it had not. Doctor "C" decided that it was time to call the pumonary team down to see what they thought. A doctor met with the Gabe's team and decided that a bronch was the best plan to help open up his lungs. He said that first they would have to remove the endotracheal tube that Gabe is breathing through and replace it with a bigger and of course cleaner one. This will allow the camera to pass down the tube without the chance of getting stuck. Once they are in the lung they can take a look around and then start to clean out the inside of the lung and then try to re-inflate it. The doctor described it as a balloon, the first few puffs into the balloon are difficult but after that it is easy to blow up. He made it sound so simple and straightforward but it still didn't calm my nerves about the whole thing. So tomorrow at 11 a.m. Gabe's team will begin his bronchoscopy.
Gabe is actually doing a wonderful job breathing on just one lung. As our wonderful nurse "B" said, "imagine what he could do with two lungs".
Gabe also had an ultrasound of his abdomen this morning to take a look at the tumors on his liver and see if they have changed in size at all. Unfortunately we still have not found out the results of the ultrasound yet.
Gabe was resting comfortably in his little spaceship all day today. It is amazingly quit and warm inside that thing and he really likes it. Shannon and I are glad that he is more comfortable but unfortunately for us it is much harder to socialize with him throught the little doors on the side.
It's going to be a big day for the little man tomorrow and I can't wait for him to be able to breath through both lungs.
Keep him in your prayers!



6 comments:

Unknown said...

Ahhh.. so aware of you.... What a cutie pie!! hugs and kisses...

Jeanne Marie said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jeanne Marie said...

He is so adorable! I loved seeing him respond to your voice, so precious! I'm praying for him like crazy today. Hugs, Jeanne

Confessions of a Proverbs: 31 Wife said...

What a beautiful little boy! This video is so precious, and it is so amazing to see how responsive he is to your voice, Jesse! Gabriel is such a beautiful gift from God, and my goodness, is he a fighter!!! You are all in our prayers daily. I can't even begin to imagine how busy you two are balancing your time between Kayla and Gabriel. Keep up the amazing work you two. Gabriel and Kayla could not ask for two more devoted, loving parents. You both are truly amazing and an inspiration to us all. We can't wait to meet Gabriel and eventually have a play date with Gabriel and Joseph. :) Love, Molly, Matt, Samuel and Joseph Poncato

shannon said...

I am SO glad we got to come visit.... it is truly a pleasure to be able to come spend some time with Gabe and you both... These latest pics and video are absolutely breathtaking! Love you!

Robin O said...

So precious, I can't tell how much I appreciate your blog and heartfelt notes. I am with you daily. He is so wonderful.

- Robin