The Way He Was

Caleb's progress. First picture, on ventilator. Second, on trach collar. Third, on HME, last on a smaller HME.

Since my last entry, my little Caleb has changed so much. Here's a recap.

On Monday, Caleb was still on IV and his ventilator. I bought him a mobile and a music box at Wal-Mart. He is way more alert than the past few days. We were still bonding, but because of his PICC and his tubes, it was still difficult.

Tuesday, Paul left work early so we can both learn the trach change together. The actual apparatus has to be changed weekly. The first time was done by his surgeon and this time, it's us, observed by the RT and the nurses. It was difficult because the stoma is still not healed. I'm very proud of how Paul accomplished this task. As for Caleb, he's such an obedient boy. He allowed us to change it without any fussing. Another plus was that he was no longer on the ventilator. He had a trach collar.

Wednesday, Caleb began eating formula... yay, no more TPN's. But he still had his PICC line. The staff wanted to start him on a special formula with very little fat content. They suspected his diet of breast milk as the culprit for the fluid in his lungs. Caleb also received his first real bath since his surgery. I know that was a treat for him. Pre-op, mom and dad gave him nightly baths. This helped him sleep better. He was so relaxed that during trach care, he was zoning out. At weigh-in, he was 15.4 lbs. Wonderful, he's supposed to be around that range since the fluids he's retained post-op should have been eliminated.

Thursday, the nurse stated that prior to discharge, mom and dad had to do 3 trach changes each. According to their check list, that was the only thing us parents had not yet demonstrated proficiency of. The nurse decided that I should do one all by myself. This way, Paul and I would have only 2 more changes each. It was very difficult again, but I did it. I had to psych myself to do it. When we returned for our night visit, we noticed he no longer had his PICC line. For us, that meant he was wireless. He was no longer bound by the saline flushes, TPN's, lipids, and what not. He was receiving all his feedings via G-tube. All he had was his pulse sock and his heart monitor leeds. Prior to his routine baths, we played with him. He was definitely happier without that PICC on his head. He was alert and smiling more. Paul and I did his trach care. The bath/trach care routine takes about an hour and even before we had finished, he was asleep. Another good news: he was on an HME (filtering system for the trach). His saturations were excellent, mostly in the mid to high 90's. He's breathing on his own now via trach. Paul and I also mastered the suctioning.

The Lord is good. He is working wonders. We have received many blessings during this trying time. Main thing is: our son is on his way to recovery. Paul and I feel very confident we can provide the care he needs at home.