Post-Op, Day 2

Just a quick note to let you know how Samuel's 2nd day after surgery went.

Overall he is doing well and is looking much better now that he has less tubes, etc. He spent most of the day breathing room air and with nothing attached to or coming out of his face - it's really sweet to be able to kiss all over his face and head unobstructed.

This afternoon, the ENT came to check in on him. There is apparently something that happens frequently with kids that have been on the ventilator for a while. There gets to be some irritated tissue in the esophagus, especially around the vocal chords. This tissue, if not removed, can turn into scar tissue which would potentially obstruct the airway, which our little guy certainly does not need. Samuel had been showing some signs of difficulty in breathing throughout the day, even though his respiratory rate is excellent, as is his O2 saturation. The ENT did find some of this tissue in Samuel's throat and decided that it needed to be addressed as soon as possible.

"Addressing it" meant another trip to the OR - if you can believe it - to be fully sedated and, irony of ironies, re-intubated so that the Dr could remove those bits of tissue. That was done this evening around 9pm and the Dr (Lucinda Halstead) was able to remove the necrotic tissue and coat the affected areas in some medicine that will keep scar tissue from forming. She said everything went great and we even got to see some pictures of the inside of Samuel's esophagus.

So, as of 10:45 tonight, he was back in the PCICU, resting peacefully (i.e., well-medicated) and stable. Hopefully the breathing tube will come out tomorrow morning and we shouldn't have to worry with this issue again.

Our parents are heading out tomorrow (Saturday) - Sara's with AC and Colin to MD. Pray for their safety in travel, especially for patience and sanity for Jim & Ann. Pray that Sara and I would adjust to being 'just a couple' and that of just one kid. Things will certainly look different in the coming days with fewer people around and less moving parts. We are so grateful for all the ways that you have provided for us. We have had to convert an upstairs hall closet in the apartment we're staying in to a pantry to store all of the fruit snacks, granola bars and paper products! Our cupboards are overflowing! Thank you for your generosity. I wish I could say or do more to express our gratitude.

Good night,
grant