Updates for 9/27/2007
Greetings all ... it certainly has been quite some time since we've lasted post ... let's just say it has been real busy around here. Looking back at those last few posts sure brought back some old memories ... mercy, what trying times they were. I'm not going to go into much detail about what has transpired since, maybe just highlight a few things.

When we brought Gavin home, his lymphatic system was still damaged and would take a few months to heal. Because of that, we could only feed him a special (and expensive) formula. Needless to say, he didn't like it and it was a struggle to get him fed. He gained very little weight those few months and thankfully, we have since been able to pull him off of that and onto regular food.

He continues to gain weight very slowly ... he's about 15 1/4 pounds now and his twin just a few pounds heavier. He has started walking a bit and is very active. All the boys enjoy playing with one another and it's a wonderful thing to see them interact.

Updates for 03/04/07

We're HOME!!!! :-)

Updates for 03/03/07

Another sleepless night ... I'd pretty much given up even trying. Gavin seems fussy most of his waking hours and we're not sure why. We did spend some more time walking out of his room and around the hospital, that seemed to calm him (must be getting bored). Also spent some time keeping him upright.
As for going home? Naaa, Dr. squashed that idea pretty quick ... he didn't want us to leave so soon after getting that extra dose of IV lasix. He's went back to oral lasix and will take some more x-rays tomorrow and see how things are.

Updates for 03/02/07

Didn't get much sleep this night in the hospital. It seems there's someone coming in every few hours to run some stats on the little guy (or his roommate). Gavin is VERY fearful when other people approach him, as if he knows they are going to poke or prod him with something. Every time a nurse or dr. comes around he, he starts to fuss and cry, even if it's to do something simple like listen to his heart beat.

There were rumors we "could" possibly leave this day, so the morning was a flurry of activities of taking (and retaking) tests. In the end, the Dr. decide to hold off because the chest x-ray showed some build up of fluid. He'll take an extra does of lasix to help remove some of the fluid.

Updates for 03/01/07

10:33 p.m
Gavin got moved to CV East, which means we need to stay with him in his room 24/7 during the final days of his recovery (that's a good thing). He has the IV line in his left arm, but that's about it. He's not even hooked up to a pulse-ox machine anymore!! Woo Hoo! (I certainly won't feel sad about returning the one we have at home).
He's been real fussy today ... hard to tell if its pain, hunger, of if he's tired. He's eating sporadically again (back to his normal self in a way) but after what he's been through, that can't be too surprising.
Ironically, we're back in the same room we originally had with his first surgery ... go figure.

Updates for 02/28/07

Oops ... missed a day....

11:30 p.m.
Gavin has most of the wires and such out. They pulled the chest tubes out and the feeding tube. They also removed the line in his neck as well (yeah!). He's drinking pretty good from a bottle and he's enjoying being able to sleep in his side.

Updates for 02/27/07

11:58 p.m.
Both momma and I got to bottle feed Gavin today. I took the night shift and fed him at 10 ... they only allow him to have about 50ml, so he scarfed that down and was pouting for more. They've removed most of the tubes from his nose except one, but I think everything else is still there. Fluid continues to decrease in flow from the chest tubes and hopefully soon we can get those off. He fell asleep after the feed so I couldn't take any pictures of him w/o his covers.

About the pictures.
- In the pictures of Gavin, you notice only one tube left in his nose (as compared to yesterdays)
- In the picture of the monitor, you see a blue "100"? ... that's his pulse-ox (it used to be in the high 70s). You can definitely tell he's alot pinker now (instead of bluish).
- The book there of "Frenchy the Frog" was left there by Tye Pennington of "Extreme Home Makeover". Evidently he came by the hospital and brought gifts for the patients.

Updates for 02/26/07

10:00 p.m.
Not as good a day today.

First ... Gavin is still having fluid drain from his chest, so they will have to leave the tubes in there a bit longer (by contrast, they usually come out 2-3 days after surgery).

Second ... They are starting to give him anti-anxiety medicine to ease his fussiness (he's still a bit uncomfortable, so who can blame him).

Third ... It appears as though part of his lymphatic system was damaged during surgery. Because of this, he can only be given formula with a low fat content (no longer can he have breast milk, which is what's best for him in so many ways).

Despite all that, I did get some pics for the day. For some reason Gavin didn't go to sleep until 4:00 a.m. (I gave in about 2:30).

Updates for 02/25/07

6:00 p.m.
A good day for Gavin today. They've taken off one of the arterial IV lines (the one from his left wrist) and he's off of most the meds. The ventilator is off and they hope to take the chest tubes out tomorrow. He's much more alert than before and is almost his old self again. When I come to his bed, his eyes well up with tears and he starts to cry ... I can almost hear him asking for me to let him loose ... :-( ... it's tough seeing him like that ... thankfully, he calms down after I stroke his hand and forehead. He really doesn't like those tubes in his nose and has a hard time coughing (and it probably doesn't feel too good coughing with those 3 chest tubes to boot)

It's gotten very crowded in the CVICU (they've even had to put another baby in Gavin's unit) and it seems they are a bit understaffed. I've only got good things to say about the Drs. and nurses there ... they are top notch.

We'll try to publish daily pictures to show his progress as those various contraptions are taken off. (scroll down to the previous post to see yesterday's pics)