Monday, May 3, 2010

The Plan


Talked to Jacob's doctors today. Here is what we found out...

Infection:
Jacob is now on IV antibiotics. They are stronger so the hope is that it will clear up the infection sooner. He can switch to oral antibiotics after a few days if it helps. They think the infection was caused by an abscess in a stitch. He will be on some form of antibiotics for at least 7 to 10 days.

Weight/diet:
Jacob is doing so well that eventually we may have to back off the extra calories he is getting. He is 8 pounds now! For now we will keep his diet the same since he has catching up to do. The g-tube and fortifying worked so well!

They are going to start trying to feed him by bottle again. We can give him a little bit through the bottle before each feed and the rest by the g-tube. We will see if his breathing can tolorate it. Praying it does, he loves the taste!

Going Home:

The doctors are all still concerned about his lung condition and the rapid breathing. They said that they want to do a heart cath before we go home. They are not opposed to us going home but since he has been through so much and since he still is having breathing issues, they want to know that his heart function is good enough to go. With the cath they can measure all of the pressures in his heart and lungs and get a much clearer picture of his situation. It will be sometime next week.

Jacob is a unique case and he has had many setbacks so we want to make sure that once we go home, we wont have to turn right back around. They should also have a better idea of when to do his second surgery after seeing the results from the cath. It should be sometime between 4 and 6 months old.

So we will just have to wait and see... again. I won't be home for mother's day after all.

Please pray that Jacob's infection goes away. And please pray his cath goes well. Even though it is not an OR surgery it is still a difficult procedure that takes 3 to 4 hours. He will need anethesia again which scares me because of what he went through after his last surgery with the medication.

Thank you again for all of the support and prayers. This journey has been more difficult than we ever imagined but we are so blessed to have Jacob and to have so many people praying for us.

Love,
Kathy, Andy, Aidan and Jacob!

4 comments:

  1. Sorry to hear about the issues of the infection. With these heart babies, you would rather be more cautious than not. I would hate for you all to go home and he not be ready and you have serious issues. The doctor always said to us that his goal was to make sure that he felt that our Jacob was well enough to go home. Unfortunately as you know, that never occured with us. God Bless and take care. I am always thinking and praying for you, jacob and your entire family.

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  2. Sorry to hear that you won't be home as a family for Mother's Day! Braeden's incision became infected after his first surgery too, and in the same spot...at the very top! It did keep us in the hospital for an extra week, but thankfully it wasn't too serious. We are praying for you guys, and hope that you can continue to make steps toward home!

    ~Stephanie and Braeden(HLHS)

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  3. I am praying that his infection clears up soon and the cath goes well. I know how you feel about caths...they are scary too. I am also sending up a prayer that you will all be home real soon.

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  4. Praying for baby Jacob & your whole family! I know the stress & heart ache a broken-hearted little baby can bring... My baby boy with a broken heart will be 5-years-old on Mother's Day! So blessed we are to have the opportunity to be the parents of these special little boys :) All our children are truly a blessing...
    My absolute favorite Bible verse is
    "John 9:3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him."
    I keep Daniel's picture in my Bible as a bookmark & reminder that this is all for His glory!
    I truly believe we can see God's power & blessing of knowledge through the Dr's & nurses that help fix the "broken-heartet" :)
    I am SO thankful for the comfort I have in the Lord! Keep the faith & savor each precious moment God blesses us with as parents :D
    Please remember my Daniel in prayer... He visits one of his heart DR's in the morning & we go find out if we need to visit the surgeon again... God is GOOD, ALL the TIME!
    ~Lisa Atwood (WV) www.BabyDaniel.name

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