Wednesday Night -- Nov 28 -- John

Our new normal hit a snag...
Not Kyle,...! He is doing well. We are so excited to be able to say,... HE WEIGHS 2 LBS NOW!!! we can say plural for the word pound! It is now POUNDS! YAY! While that is amazing, he is still not big enough to be able to handle the next size tube for his vent, but,... he is getting there quickly! So for now, he still has to fight the leak, the de-saturations, etc... but other good news is they have increased his feeds to 9 cc's and he seems to be digesting that well - so far. He has developed a potential small hernia that they have been talking to us about today, but, aren't going to be worrying about it until around the time he would go home. As for his respiration, right now, he is somewhere between the 20's and 50's in his oxygenation. His breaths per minute is around 40, and if his blood gases continue to go well through tomorrow morning, they could lower that and wean it more down to 35. That is great news! It doesn't mean that it still couldn't vary if needed, but it is just a really great thing right now that he is handling the pressure they are putting on him to work. He is working hard! He truly is a little lion... a real fighter! ... his nurses have said "feisty" from the beginning. I love that. Some people would not like their kids to be independent or strong headed,... strong willed,... I welcome it. I would rather them display those character traits so that it could be harnessed into a leader role and not just a follower. I may not LOVE it during those teenage years, but... I love that at least for now, all three of my kids display the ability to think for themselves. Kyle has seemingly displayed that ability with flying colors. The last 5 weeks of his life have been truly a gift from God, and Kyle continues to work hard at beating the odds against him. We have another echo on friday I think to check out his pda and heart clot again. Both show to be small. This means, they continue the FFP, (fresh frozen plasma) So for all of you who have donated blood out there in Kyle's name... thanks... he is getting things he needs to help him overcome this heart clot, and sometimes low blood counts. I heard the date Dec 9 for another head scan to see what the blood in his head is doing. Please keep praying that this blood is reabsorbing well and not constricting any spinal fluid flow/blood flow! This is so very important to Kyle's development.
SO... you may ask, what do you mean by the new normal hits a snag??? Well,... the holidays were good. They brought their challenges,.. one of which was me on saturday (the day of my family thanksgiving) I came down with a touch of a virus. This led to constant feeling of throwing up (never did, PRAISE HIM... (I hate that more than roaches,... ok,.. well, maybe not... but I do hate it more than feet.) Instead, I just FELT like I would puke at any given moment, and had a pounding headache. I knew I had some pretty wicked fever one night too, so that meant no hospital for me... just sleep. I felt so bad for my family, because my mom and sister slaved for 2 days to cook a thanksgiving meal for my whole family so to try and still have some sort of normal holiday for us..( I am so thankful to them for that) and, I thanked them by barely being able to eat it and having to go to bed by 8 pm. I felt so LAME for that one... then, on sunday, was back in bed by like 2 pm and slept till 6 ish. I don't think I have slept so much in, well, I don't know... FOREVER. So, to be on the safe side, monday, I went to the doctor and still hung out on tues. 3 days away from Kyle! I did get to hang out with Jadon and Jack some, so that was good, but not too much, because I didn't want them to get what I had. I took Kelly to the hospital today, and peeked in on Kyle, but still didn't feel good about spending time in his pod because today, I woke up feeling a little bit on the sinus infection side. GREAT... from one thing to another. Awesome. Perfect. SO,... tonight, I lay here, feeling sorry for myself somewhat, frustrated, because I still feel like crud warmed over, knowing that as long as I feel like this, I can't be in Kyle's pod. Poor Kelly. She has to bear the brunt of all the hospital stuff on her own right now. So, the verdict is out on whether or not I will be able to hang out with Kyle for a little bit, BUT,... at least he is doing good and is nearly 6 whole weeks old! I am so thankful for that. He really is looking bigger to me now. I can't wait because Shauna just got back from Germany for a while, and she is going to take some new pics of Kyle for you all to see this weekend! SO,... soon and very soon, new photos of the boy! YAY... and I am sure, we will see some more new candids of Jadon and Jack too... she can't help it. She sees them at play and has to click a few here and there, so maybe soon, we will have some good pics again!
Please continue to pray for Kyle. I know you are all busy. Pray for strong lungs,.. pray that his need for the vent will decrease more and more and he will come off that soon,.. pray his PDA to close. Pray his brain to be healthy and good! Pray God's glory! Pray for the fullness of the Holy Spirit to move in Kyle's little life! Thank you to all of you who are still praying and writing emails and comments on the blogs... I can't tell you how much that blesses us at night when we read them. Thanks for the voicemails and texts... I KNOW we haven't answered much,... sorry, but know you are appreciated. Thanks for everything you guys are doing in loving and caring for our family in this time! Please know you are so appreciated as we are overwhelmed by how God is using all of this for our good, the advancement of His kingdom, all our faith's being reshaped, and mostly -- His glory. We believe that.