Braden Update

Well things have been very busy in our house lately. I apologize for taking so long to post. We have had company and other things taking up our time. Braden is doing better. He is putting on weight again and seems much happier. We still are unsure if he had a bad reaction to the prilosec or if it just didn't work for him. His reflux is so bad. The GI doc put him back on the previcid and it took a while for Braden to start feeling better. Now he has some difficulties but not too bad and Braden recovers quickly. Braden is now 10 lbs 14 ozs. He is averaging about a 1/2 oz per day. We are hopeful he will be over 11 lbs when he has his surgery. This week we have a routine Pulmonary visit on Wed.. and then another visit to PATCH for an anesthesiologist review.

I posted a few random pictures taken over the past few weeks.

Date for Surgery

The new date for Braden's surgery is Nov. 6th at 7:30 am. It'll be a rough morning because we will have to be at Vandy for 6 am. It will be nice though to start early and get the surgery out of the way and on to recovery. We can all sleep after lunch and Braden won't have to feel like he is starving all day.

Braden's Surgery Update

Well it's been a long day. They tried to get us in for Braden's surgery but Braden's original blood work clotted and they had to do new labs. The good news is Braden's labs were excellent. The bad news is too much time went by and we missed getting Braden's surgery done today. Vandy treated us very well and tried their best to make things work. Our surgeon told us that it was in Braden's best interest to wait and have the surgery done within the next few weeks. As soon as we have a new date for the surgery we will let everyone know.

Thank you again to all those who have kept Braden in their thoughts and prayers today.

Thank you

Thank you all for the kind words and prayers. Thank you Becky for sharing that your girls are doing better having their Mic-key buttons. :-) We are packed and ready to go to Vandy. The surgery is at 12:30 and hopefully we will be settled in a room around 4:30 - 5:00 pm. Stephen will post an update as soon as he gets home. Hopefully, sometime tonite.

This week

Well tomorrow we visit the anesthesiologist. Just to test Braden and see how long he can be under. Then they will decide how they will handle Braden's procedures.

Braden has been having some issues with high heart rate and obvious discomfort with his feedings. We also weighed him last nite to find that he has not gained anything in over a week. So we called the GI doc and they took Braden off the prilosec. Apparently he is allergic and it has added to his discomfort and reflux issue. Poor baby he is sooo tough. We continue to be amazed by how tolerant this child is and how he still smiles despite his issues. He sooo deserves a break and we are really hoping this surgery is it.

Thank you all for continuing to keep Braden in your thoughts and prayers.

Braden's reflux and procedure

Here is Braden after his morning reflux episode.

Last nite I looked up on you tube how to change a G-tube. Not pretty... But it's great that we have the internet and can investigate and educate ourselves. I also watched a trach change which in my opinion isn't as bad. Hopefully, Braden won't need the G-tube for very long. Thankfully we only have to change it every three months instead of every week like the trach.

This week so far has gone well. Braden is just so smiley and happy. He is such a gift and we are so thankful for him.

Tonite one of Braden's NICU nurses Missy and her husband Dan will be babysitting Braden. This will be Stephen and I's first outting since Braden's been home.

Dr. Visits

This picture was taken this morning. We think Braden looks so cute wearing a polo like his Daddy.

The visit with our surgeon went well today. The surgery will take anywhere from 2 to 5 hours. It is considered a major surgery so Braden will have to stay in the hospital a few days after the procedures. The surgery has been scheduled for Oct. 16th at 12:30 pm. We will do our best to post the updates. However, I will stay at the hospital for Braden's entire visit. So, depending on Stephen's schedule postings may be delayed. We also met with the Urologist today. They did an ultrasound to check on Braden's previous issues (yeast and debris). The Dr. was very pleased and said Braden is completely clear of debris, no signs of yeast and his hydro seals are looking much better as well. So we won't have to see Dr. Adams again until April. It was a very long day so we are all very tired. We are hoping to rest up over the next few days to prepare for next weeks surgery.

Just for fun

Many of you have asked who does Braden look like? So I thought I would post baby photos of both Stephen and I at 6 months and a year old. So those who already think he looks like Stephen well here's your proof. For those who thinks he looks like me well you might change your mind.

Thursday photo shoot

Aunt Paula and Miranda visited yesterday. Paula got some great photos of Braden. Please check them out on her blog at www.momentsbypaula.blogspot.com.