Take the Good, Take the Bad...

Today we had a follow up visit with our favorite GI doc; we got good news and bad news.

The Bad News: Joshua possibly has some dysmotility happening and more than likely we'll be back in radiology this week for an upper GI small bowel follow through. Dr. O was examining his abdomen and we heard an odd swishing sound coming from his bowels. "That's not right." says the doctor. Hate those words!

BUT....

The Good News: Starting some new meds, one that should help increase his appetite and another that will decrease bacterial overgrowth.
AND there's a VERY good chance his central comes out THIS WEEK! Yes, you heard it here first folks, THIS WEEK! Yeah! I can't even wrap my mind around how great that is.

He is still having some issues with his blood sugar and if it continues, it looks like we'll be seeing and endocrinologist. (Joshua's blood sugar was 54 this morning.) But that may be circumvented with an idea the doctor had about Joshua's feeding schedule. We'll see...

Sugar, can't live with it, can't live without it.

Good News:
Our weekly labs show that Joshua's Electrolytes are completely normal! The thing I was most concerned about! Woo Hoo!


Bad News:
His blood sugar is low. It's not too surprising though, because over the last few days Joshua's been tiring very easily and has been extremely irritable. We'll be checking it three times a week to keep a close eye on it.

A Little Afternoon Bloating

It's been nearly THREE weeks without TPN. I don't even know how to process that fact. What an amazing feat! This accomplishment hasn't come without it's challenges though. Each afternoon this week, Joshua feels just terrible. His tummy is so bloated, he's nauseous and we're continually having to decompress his tummy to achieve just a hint of relief. The biggest blessing has been that he doesn't seem to be losing too much fluid, I think he's staying pretty well balanced. Hopefully some of this is his response to the warmer weather we've had recently or the change in med schedule, which I'm changing back to what we were doing before our last hospital stay.

At any rate, to date Joshua is still TPN FREE! We have prayed for this since Joshua was born. Caleb makes sure to keep Joshua on his school's prayer list, too! What an amazing older brother Joshua has. I feel that I don't write nearly enough about our two other sons. We've got such a smart, creative and active trio. The Lord has truly blessed us. Each is so special in his individual way. I'm so thankful for my boys. As chaotic and confusing as my life is, these little boys are the glue that holds me together! Thank you boys!

We Are Home!

Woo Hoo! We made it. The craziness of trying to get out of the hospital with all we've acquired over the last 11 days, trying to get things washed and put away, along with all the other normal insanity around here has left me exhausted. But, I just wanted anyone who checks up on us to know we are out of the hospital. We're home with 4 days left of IV antibiotics and on a two week trial to see if Joshua can handle the lack of TPN. Labs and weight should tell us soon enough. Keep the prayers coming for our little man!

Homeward Bound?

Well we just may be, if labs look good in the morning that is. So far Joshua's just done great without any IV fluids. It's amazing. God is good, thanks to all who continue to pray for our little guy.

To think, a couple of weeks ago I was so bummed about a hole in his line. What a disguised beginning that was to our step in the right direction. Just goes to show, what may look like a mess to us, is perfect and beautiful to the Lord!

Sometimes we need a swift kick in the pants! So, instead of complaining, let's all just see where that kick sends us!

Love you all!

Electrolytes are Normal

Got good news this morning, definitely no more infection present and so far Day 4 of no TPN brings excellent lab results. Joshua shows no signs of dehydration. YEAH! Prayers are being answered around these parts!

Joshua's been in good spirits, riding around the hospital again on that little red trike. There's no stopping this kid. I have noticed that he's tiring a little quicker than normal, but he's been sick and it always takes a while to recover.

Looks like Cook's is our home through at least Wednesday.

Home Sweet Home?

No Time Like the Present

A gnarly line infection has landed Joshua in the hospital. His surgeon wants to try to clear the line of the infection before we pull it and replace with a new one. But, in speaking with the Infectious Disease doctor today, there may be an alternative.

He doesn't want to run TPN through the infected line. So tomorrow night we're running regular IV fluids through a peripheral line. His thinking is why don't we try pulling the line all together and seeing just how well Joshua can do without TPN?

Why not?

Worst case scenario, we put the line back in, which we'll have to do anyway if this stubborn bug doesn't clear.

Our GI will have to call the shots, but I'm thinking it's worth a try?