So I am sitting here wanting to write an update, but I am struggling with the words to say. I have all around had a rough week. Last Monday I knew that it was going to be a long week. I received word this week that Vennard, the college that I spent 4 of the best years of my life at was closing. I know that I need to deal with the situation, but I just don't feel like I can at the moment. The problem is that I don't have time to wait to deal with it. So I am still trying to work through & process that information.
Dylan also had a hard week. Mid-week last week he started having some breathing problems & was having a lot of residuals (food left over in his belly before the next feeding). Unfortunately, those are 2 signs of infections in babies. Dylan had a bunch of tests done, had his feedings stopped, & had IV's inserted to give him his nutrition & antibiotics. The docs have not been able to confirm an infection, but Dylan still has to have the antibiotics for 7 days. I believe today is day 5. They have restarted his feeds, but he is not tolerating them well, so it is going a lot slower than we thought it would be. He was up to 24 cc's every 3 hrs., but since they've restarted, he has been getting 10 cc's every 4 hrs. He is still having some residual problems, but they seem to be getting better.
Dylan also received a blood transfusion this week. The blood really seemed to help him. I am thankful to those people who can donate blood & do so. You never really think that it is going to affect anyone you know, but I know that someone donated the blood that has now helped my son twice. What a blessing that that can be done. He has had no reactions to the blood, so that is good, too. He does have some extra fluid in his body because of the transfusion. When the docs push all that blood in, but don't take any fluid out, sometimes it is hard for the extra fluid to go anywhere. So Dylan received some lasics today. It will make him pee more & get rid of all that extra fluid. The docs also saw some wetness on his lungs on the x-ray this morning, so the lasics should help with that, too.
Dylan is feeling better today. He is breathing a lot better & his residuals are starting to get better. He weighed 3 lbs., 10 oz. today, but it should be going down because he will be losing some of that extra fluid. We want him to be gaining weight, but not in that way. Once he gets off the high flow oxygen & onto the normal nasal canual oxygen we should be able to start bottle feeding. I am very excited about that. It will be one more thing that we will be able to help out with & I think it will make me feel like Dylan is a little bit more mine & less like he belongs to the hospital.
We have an eye exam scheduled for this week. If that comes back good, & if Dylan can get off the high flow oxygen, we may be able to get transferred back to Davenport. I am trying to decide how I feel about that. I would be excited to be able to be home, but I am scared to leave the docs we have had since the beginning. Some of them do work in Davenport, too, but it is still scary. And, while I miss being home, I think I will miss being here at the RMH. I was trying to figure out why that was & then it occurred to me – it's kind of like being in the college dorm. A crazy, mixed up, joyful, sometimes depressing college dorm – so it's pretty much exactly like the dorm, minus the homework. But you're still exhausted. It's just an emotional exhaustion. I have made some good friends here & while I do not know that we will keep in touch, I know that I have appreciated them. Many of them have been here longer than me & I have gained lots of knowledge from them. I feel like I know what to expect better because of them – this place is sounding more like the dorm every minute!
One major blessing this week – my mom & stepdad came to visit on Sunday & brought us a Christmas present. That was really strange because it is November & we see them all the time. It's not like this is the only time we will get together! So I opened the box & inside it was another box. I opened that one & found a set of car keys. My mom & Wayne bought a car from my step-uncle for us. They knew that we had been struggling about what to do once I come back. If Dylan is at the hospital, I didn't want to rely on someone to drive me around all the time. Also, once Dylan comes home, we would have either had to take him out in the cold every morning to take Derrick to work or we would be stuck at home all the time. Neither idea sounded great to us. I am thrilled about the car! It will give us a little more freedom without costing us a fortune. It is a '93, so the registration & plates will be pretty cheap. It is not exactly what I was looking for, but it will work for now & our other car will be paid off in June, so we may start looking for something bigger then. Right now I am just thankful to have a 2nd vehicle!
Here is a special prayer request for today: I met a mom tonight who has a daughter at the hospital. I don't know anything about their story, but the mom told me that her daughter is severely anorexic. I asked how she was doing & her mom said, “Poorly.” She also told me that she's “fighting it.” I don't know if that means that she is fighting the help or fighting the disease. Please pray for her & her family today.
So that's about it for my update. We appreciate all your love & prayers. We know God hears them & is blessing us though you. Dylan is such a precious miracle. I'll leave you will the lyrics of a song that I sing to Dylan. It is by Stellar Kart titled “Sunshine.” It is about Jesus, but somewhat expresses how I feel.
Life is filled with
Circumstances situations
That we can't avoid
And I admit some
Days can steal my happiness
But I still got joy
Hey you are my sunshine
On a rainy day it's gonna be ok
Hey you are my sunshine
It's gonna be alright
I believe in
Something bigger than my troubles
They can't keep me down
This sinking feeling
Starts disappearing on the double
Now that you're around
I am not afraid
To walk into the darkness
Cause I've got the light
I've got my problems
But I know that Jesus loves me
And that's alright
No comments:
Post a Comment