Finally made it out of PCICU

It wouldn't be a good day with Colby unless there were a couple of hurdles and a few twists. Small recap of today:

When we wrote last night Colby had been released to go up to the 6th floor. We assumed that he would move up to 6 early this morning. Colby decided he wanted to make a day out of the transition. They did his gas test early this morning around 4 and of course something had to throw up a flag and his Lactate levels were again the flag. They were a little elevated so they tested them again around 6. They were back to normal at the 6 AM test. Once they got those results the room he was moving to on the 6th floor had been taken. They decided to go ahead and prep him to leave the ICU while we waited for another room. This preparation required the removal of his central line and his arterial line which had been put in for his surgery on Monday. They wanted him to go to the 6th floor with no lines except a peripheral IV. Once they began removing his lines they realized that his peripheral line had gone bad. This shouldn't have been an issue but it quickly became an issue. Colby became a "hard stick" a patient that they can't get a new IV started in. Between his nurses and an IV tech they attempted 4 times to get a new line started. After the 4th attempt they decided to call for a PICC Line which is a more permanent line and has a lower risk of infection. PICC lines are typically started by the PICC Team. The PICC team uses ultrasound to find a usable vein. They worked on Colby for a little over 2 hours with no success. The nurse called us back into the room to tell us they were unable to get a new line started. Fortunately they had given him a sedative during this 2 hour process. We later found out the sedative was necessary b/c our little fighter was not letting them stick him without a fight.

Around 6 tonight the doctors and nurses discussed what options were available. They consulted with Colby's cardiologist and decided to start a new Central Line in his groin. The decision to remove the existing central line and start a new line in his groin was based on his future surgeries. Apparently the location of his first central line involved some of the plumbing that the doctors will need for his next surgery so the cardiologist wanted to get everything out of his chest to prevent the risk of affecting his veins that are part of the next surgery. At 7 pm tonight they began the procedure of removing his existing central line and putting in his new central line through his groin. This procedure required a fair amount of pain medicine and sedation. The procedure went off without a hitch/ no complications. The procedure took about and an hour and half. He was finally ready to move to the 6th floor at 8:30 PM. 12 hours later and multiple attempts to get a new line Colby was off to the elevator....

God once again showed us the strength of our little fighter. Throughout the day Colby remained stable. His SATs never dropped and he remained pleasant. He is a trooper....

Beyond the drama that Colby was involved in we were also exposed to the fragility and the reality of babies with heart issues. As we were waiting for Colby's move this morning the unthinkable happened.... One of the babies across the hall lost its fight during a surgical procedure. Despite the emotions that we have experienced throughout our journey with Colby from his diagnosis through his first surgery it is easy for us to forget the the severity of his condition. Although we do not know the details of the fight that little baby was facing we know 1 thing for sure... That precious little baby was another families little fighter too.

The reality is that God has a plan for each of our lives and unfortunately we do not always know what that plan involves. Fortunately God's plan for Colby has protected him, strengthened him, and kept him safe in our arms to this point. As we watch out little Colby sleep tonight we are even more grateful for the his progress. We are also saddened for other families knowing that God has taken one of His little heart babies back into His loving arms. As many of you continue to lift Colby and his doctors up in prayer we also ask that we not forget the other babies and families facing this same fight. It doesn't take long in the ICU to realize how blessed each and every day is with these precious little souls.

The events of today were very stressful to us but even more emotionally wrenching was the thought of how good God has been to us through this journey. As I have mentioned before we are grateful for each and every little milestone we are able to achieve with Colby. He has blessed our lives far beyond our imagination. Through him Becca and I have been able to love like we have never loved, cried like we have never cried, and rejoiced like we have never rejoiced. I have been blessed far beyond what I deserve with Becca and our boys. My prayer is that I am able to be the husband and father to my family that they deserve. God has blessed me with so much and with those blessings comes great responsibility.