What a difference a day makes....

Post-Op day 3....

It's not often that I get to talk about poop in an open forum but I have finally gotten that chance w/ no fear of repercussions from Becca. Last night the nurse became a little concerned about Colby's bowel movements or lack there of. The poor little guy hadn't pooped since he was admitted into the hospital on Friday. Apparently this is a common side affect of narcotics.... The plan started off w/ Miralax (stool softener)...no reaction, next step prunes and molasses... nothing, next step suppository.... still nothing, another suppository.... yet again no break through. Poop became a point of discussion at rounds this morning for the doctors. The consensus was enema with hopes of getting things moving. The nurse finally administered the liquid dynamite mid morning and within a few minutes things began to happen. First diaper required a change of bed sheets.... and it didn't stop there the poop kept coming and coming. I have never seen or smelled anything like it. At one point I thought he might literally be able to whistle b/c there was nothing left but the diapers kept filling...absolutely amazing. The poor kid has pooped every time he has sat up since mid morning. Enough about the poop I do have other things to tell you about....

Blood Pressure: his blood pressure is still a little higher than they would like but it has trended down back into a more acceptable range. We noticed the most improvement as the day went on and he began to feel better.

Hose Pipes/ Chest tubes removed during lunch today. That was a huge hurdle to get those out. He did really well getting them out despite the size of the hose and the amount of them inside of him. I didn't realize how far they went into his chest. But typical for Colby he was mad when they did it then he was fine. As you can see in the pictures those things left a mark....

The next thing to get out was his central line from his upper chest just below his shoulder. They removed it mid afternoon. That too was a bigger deal for us than him. he was back to sleep within minutes.

They also took him back off the Oxygen Nasal thing. That made him really happy which is understandable. He has really been a trooper through this whole process.

The only "unexpected" issue was revealed after an ultrasound of his leg. There has been some concern since a couple of hours after surgery when the nurse noticed his pulse was weak in one leg and that same leg was a little cooler to the touch. They had put an arterial line in his upper thigh during surgery. As soon as they noticed the inconsistency post-op they removed the art line as a precaution. They have continued to monitor it and there has been some improvement but not enough so they wanted to take a look inside. It was confirmed that he has a small clot in his right leg which is restricting the blood flow to his feet. The solution is some shot administered twice a day (by mom, I hope) for the next couple of months. Even though that doesn't sound like much fun it sure beats the alternative of risking an unaddressed blood clot.

Despite this new development Colby was still released to move to a regular room on the 6th floor. That is huge for 3 days after surgery. We were a little shocked. Moving from the PCICU to a regular room is like going from a federal penitentiary to probation. Huge move and sign of progress.

We continue to be amazed by the hand of God and how He continues to hold our precious baby tight in His loving arms.... Once again we have had nothing but positive experiences with the medical staff here at Camp Commodore (Vandy Children's Hospital). Becca and I have started referring to this place as our summer time share and camp commodore since it has been our vacation spot for the past 2 summers. Even though there isn't a beach or waves there are plenty of people watching opportunities and we couldn't imagine our baby being anywhere else.

Hopefully tomorrow we will stay on track and little C will continue to improve. Thanks again for all of your prayers on Colby's behalf. We have been blessed in so many ways and much of that is a result of the people surrounding us.