Pictures

Jack is doing better all the time. He still has issues, but I am hoping he turned a corner. His ventilator setting is at 22% for oxygen. He is now up to 15cc per feed. He is doing so much better than he was last week. I am hoping he stays on his current path. Yayyy Jack!!

 

Julianna and I went to see the Radio City Christmas show today. We also went to Rockefeller Center to see the big tree and then to Macy's to see Santa. On the train on the way home we saw a huge rainbow. I think that is a sign of good things to come!

 

 

 

 

 

Jack in his Christmas outfit. I bought the Santa hat at Petco. It is for a Chiuaua.

                                                             Jack holding my finger.

                                                                Jack snoozing.

                                                       Julianna and me at the big tree!!

                                                                   Julianna, big tree.

                                                          Julianna with Santa at Macy's.

Jack is Doing Great!

Jack is doing great! It was really nice to see him. He was taken off his oscillator this morning and put back on a regular vent. His blood gases were really good so they thought he could handle it. He is only on 25% oxygen. That is great because regular room air is only 21% oxygen. He is off the photo therapy lights but he does have bronze baby syndrome. That should resolve on its own over time.

He is eating 11cc over an hour and a half through the gastric tube. He makes sucking motions all the time and sucks on his endotracheal tube. They are still keeping him sedated. When his morphine and ativan wear off he moves around quite a bit. He can push his whole body up on his feet. That is pretty good especially since he has a PICC line on one foot.

Tierney is still pumping for him and he loves that milk. I got to have lunch with Tierney and that was very nice.

I have to leave very early tomorrow. My plane takes off at 6am. I can go see him anytime so I will see him just before I have to leave.

I took a bunch of pictures and I will post them when I get home.

What Is Happening in this World?

I am going to see baby Jack today. I dropped Julianna off at daycare. I won't see her until Monday afternoon. That makes me sad, but now with the news of this horrible elementary school shooting in Connecticut I just want to run over to her school and hug the stuffing out of her.

A person who lost a spouse is called a widow. A child who lost a parent is called an orphan. There is no word for a parent who lost a child, because there are no words.

Eating Like A Champion

Jack's feeds are up to 5cc every three hours and he is tolerating them! I am so proud of him.

The nurse said they had to raise his oxygen settings but he is still only at 35% oxygen, via the oscillator, so that is pretty good.

He is jaundiced again so he is back under the photo therapy lights. They said that is pretty routine and most small premature babies will go under them a number of times before they are discharged.

He is somewhat swollen. He is on lasix ( a diuretic) to try to reduce that swelling. He is also on steroids to try to keep his lungs from swelling.

All in all he is having a good day. I will get to see him late tomorrow night. I can't wait!

Thanks everyone for all the prayers, good wishes, assistance with child care and everything else. And thanks Tierney for visiting Jack and giving him love!!!!

Super Great Eater!

Jack is really eating a lot. They raised his feeds to 3cc a time. It goes over a few hours but before they start a new feed they aspirate to see if there is any residual. He has had hardly any residual. That is great. I think eating is going to make a big difference for Jack.

His x-ray was good. His blood gas was good. They changed his position and are elevating him a bit because they are worried he will swell because he has been in the same position for so long. He is still getting morphine because they do not want him to get agitated or uncomfortable. His oscillator settings are staying the same.

I am watching the 12-12-12 concert. I was going to go to it but there is too much going on here. I would love to have gone but seeing it on tv is good too. Bruce Springsteen is on right now, my favorite, so I must go check it out!!

He Is Eating!!!

"Out of difficulties grow miracles"  ~  Jean De La Breyere

I called tonight and the nurse told me that Jack tolerated three feedings!!! I am over the moon about this!! They were each 1.5 cc and given to him over a 2 hour period, but he tolerated it.  I really feel that this could make all the difference for Jack. I think if he can just eat and put some weight on he will get stronger and do well.

He got another blood transfusion today. His ventilator settings stayed the same. He will have an x-ray of his chest and abdomen tomorrow. (They only need one film for his tiny body.)

I watched my Dad tonight and it was a tough evening. He was really difficult and Julianna stayed awake until about 11 pm. It should be interesting getting her up tomorrow. They have some sedatives but they don't do anything. I get through it by mentally amusing myself. Thinking things like, should I crush his pill and have him snort it? Or, can we simply ask the doctor for whatever the Wild Kingdom guy (Jim) used in the dart gun that could stop a charging rhino in seconds?

Any disruption in his regular routine makes him really difficult. I want to help so Betty can get a bit of a break but I must admit that it is becoming super hard. First I had to take him with us to Julianna's violin lesson. He was super good there. I picked up food and we went back to his house. It went down hill from there .He was trying to hide my sneakers, wearing my jacket, peed on the bathroom floor (not missed, directly),  tried to carry Julianna and she was yelling that he was squeezing her, put three pairs of pants on (at the same time) when I was trying to get him to put pajamas on, tried to open presents Betty wrapped to send out, threw out mail and on and on. Most Alzheimer's patients get worse at night and he is no exception.

It was stressful with my Dad but when I got home I called about Jack and now I am super happy. I sure hope he decides eating is good and he keeps it up. Way to go Jack!

Raised the Vent Settings

I called about Jack. They said his blood gas was not good and they had to raise the ventilator settings. The nurse said he is doing better with the higher settings. They were getting ready to do another blood gas to see how that was.

They weighed him yesterday and he lost another ounce. They are going to try a feed some time today.

Tierney visited him yesterday and was able to bring him more milk. I sure hope he gets to eat some of that milk soon. If he would only get the feeding down I think it would make a world of difference.

I sure hope to get some positive news soon. They did say he was resting comfortably. Time to rally baby Jack!!