July 25, 2009

We walked in this morning to see that Gabe had shrunk even more! This is awesome, he is looking like a little boy now. It's really incredible for Shannon and I to see this little man improving so quickly. He is opening his eyes more and more and we are really beginning to see all of his little features. The pulmonary doctor came in this morning and he checked Gabe out and said that his left lung is sounding much better and is really starting to open up and Gabe is starting to get all that crud out of his lungs. During rounds this morning the team talked about how his ventilator settings are going to continually be brought down, which is great. Slowly working towards getting off that ventilator. Yesterday Gabe got to begin what is called buccel feeding, which is a small amount of breast milk that is put inside his cheek just to give him a small taste. This makes Shannon very happy because we have enough frozen milk to keep Gabe going until he is 2 I think, just kidding. The freezer at home is completely full and we our now filling a freezer in Grandpa Reynolds garage.
Gabe's pain medications were also brought down again today and they are still keeping a close eye on him so that he doesn't go through withdrawals.
The doctor also said that they may take the vacuum off the right chest tube tomorrow and if no more fluid comes out they will remove it.
Shannon and I are so excited with his progress and look forward to what else this little man impresses us with. Thank you all for all of your prayers and thoughts!!