Not much has changed since yesterday. Michael is still in the hospital, Kerri is still in the hospital with him, he is pretty fussy and not very comfortable, he will occasionally eat a little something, but rarely wants to drink anything.
I asked Kerri yesterday if there was a "Strong willed Child" section in the adoption paperwork that we somehow missed :) This little guy without a doubt has a strong will. I like to think of it as having fight. He has a will and a drive to fight for what he wants regardless of what that is. I love that he has that fight. I don't like fighting against it, but I love that he has it. This hospital stay and his refusal to drink is yet another chapter in his story. A chapter that I hope is short rather than long.
So, unfortunately, no reports of miraculous guzzling...
Please keep praying that Michael will turn the corner and decide that eating and drinking is a GOOD thing. We just want him HOME!
The older kids and I are heading to the hospital in a few minutes to get Kerri some comfort items, and some coffee. I'm hoping having the kids there will perk Michael up a bit too. Andrew has a double header this afternoon so we will wait and see the best way to make that happen. Our 'village' has stepped up in the last couple of days to help with the kids, bring us food etc. THANK YOU for your help. We love you guys!
As I'm finishing this up, I just got a text from Kerri that Michael has a fever. Please pray for healing for our little man!
Thank you!
-Adam-
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Friday, April 26, 2013
Surgery Day - Day 2...
Here we are in Day 2. Yesterday Michael drank about 6 oz of water and formula Today he will be lucky if he has done 1oz.. He is sleeping right now, and we are going to try again when he wakes up, but most likely will need to get another IV. They had to take it out yesterday because it stopped working. I think they let it run dry (help on the floor was not great yesterday - last night and today have been much better).
So that means another day for sure.. Bummer.. We were really hoping we would go home today, even if later in the day. We miss the other kids, and would all be more comfortable at home.
Other than the not drinking thing he is doing pretty well. He slept very well through the night, and has been in good spirits this morning especially when the pain med cycle has him feeling good. He was jumping around, laughing and playing about an hour ago before crashing for this nap. We see this behaviour as a good sign.
We are hoping for a miraculous guzzling of a bottle when he wakes up :)
So that means another day for sure.. Bummer.. We were really hoping we would go home today, even if later in the day. We miss the other kids, and would all be more comfortable at home.
Other than the not drinking thing he is doing pretty well. He slept very well through the night, and has been in good spirits this morning especially when the pain med cycle has him feeling good. He was jumping around, laughing and playing about an hour ago before crashing for this nap. We see this behaviour as a good sign.
We are hoping for a miraculous guzzling of a bottle when he wakes up :)
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Surgery day - complete
Everyone is exhausted.
Michael is doing much better. Still is very cranky if he is awake and we are not holding him. He was able to drink more and eat more which is exactly what we need him to do.
He melted down when Kerri left his sight to use the bathroom. He was somewhat distraught when I went down the hall to get water( not nearly as much as when Kerri left) Attachment? Yeah, he is making good progress.
We are pooped, we miss the other kids and we are prayer hard that we go home tomorrow.
We caught a glimpse of his first smile late tonight and I happen to catch it in video. He was mimicking us raising our eyebrows.
Thank you for the thoughts and prayers
Posted with BlogsySurgery day - recovery
After 3 hours we just got to a room. Michael is doing well as long as he is being held and as long as he has his bottle in his hand.
The past 3 hours have been up and down with pain management and trying to get him comfortable. He did drink some of his bottle, but primarily took formula from a syringe.
In my earlier post I said the hard part is done. I should restate that the procedurally hard part is done but the hard part for Michael and us is just starting.
Off to figure out a way for Kerri and I to eat something. We are a little hungry.
Thank you again for the prayers. Please keep them coming. We have a bit of a journey ahead of us.
Surgery Day - All's Well
Surgeon just came out and said everything went fine. He is still sleeping so we can't see him yet, but the hard part is over.
Thank you everyone for the prayers!
Thank you everyone for the prayers!
Surgery Day - Pre op
Today is the big day.
We had to wake up at 4:15, and get on the road by 5:15 to make it to the hospital by 6.. My Mom came down and spent the night so she could get the big kids to school today. Huge thank you for the help!
Michael went back on time at 7:30. ENT came out 15 min later to say the tubes went in just fine, her job here was done :)
We are currently waiting in the waiting room for results of the palate surgery. Doc Brown is well known for this surgery and we are confident he is in good hands.
A couple pre-op pics:
We had to wake up at 4:15, and get on the road by 5:15 to make it to the hospital by 6.. My Mom came down and spent the night so she could get the big kids to school today. Huge thank you for the help!
Michael went back on time at 7:30. ENT came out 15 min later to say the tubes went in just fine, her job here was done :)
We are currently waiting in the waiting room for results of the palate surgery. Doc Brown is well known for this surgery and we are confident he is in good hands.
A couple pre-op pics:
He is able to find a smile even when he is hungry and not wanting to be awake yet
As long as he has his pillow, he can be comfy anywhere
Just before heading back
More updates to come as the day progresses
-Adam-
Sunday, April 21, 2013
3 Months
Today marks 3 months since "Gotcha Day" when we first held Michael in our arms at the civil affairs office in Zhengzhou. A quarter of a year, about 90 days. While it is still very easy to remember what life was like before bringing him home, we don't long for that. All 3 of our older kids love to play with Michael, they come up with ideas of fun activities to do as a family that Michael would enjoy. They all don't hesitate to pick him up and comfort him when he is upset. He truly brings joy to our family each and every day.
We have been working on testing the waters of separation without jumping in too deep. He has hung out with a couple of dear friends for a couple of hours, and with my Mom and Dad a couple of times and has done very well. He did great the first couple of times in the child care area at the gym (Christopher was in the room with him) until this last time where Chris ended up having to hold him for the duration of Kerri's workout -- So Chris got one too.
This Thursday 4/25 is Michael's Cleft Palate surgery. We have be there at 6am, surgery is scheduled for 7:30 and should take about 2 hours. We don't know exactly how long he will stay in the hospital, but we are told to plan on a couple of days. We are not looking forward to putting him through the pain and recovery, but are looking forward to giving him the opportunity to eat normal foods and to be able to say consonants. He is trying so hard to talk, but is put at an obvious disadvantage with his palate being open. We will post updates as we get through the surgery.
We do ask for prayers for a successful surgery, minimal pain ( this is known to be an incredibly painful procedure), and Speed recovery. We are anticipating a week or 2 of rough going as he recovers.
He has become enough a part of our regular routine that we no longer have hundreds of pictures each week to sift through to put on the blog :) Kerri did get this awesome video of him ready and willing to show off his vocabulary.
He has been feeling a little off today, we are not sure if it is teeth, or fighting a bug, or just anticipating having surgery in 4 days. He woke up after falling asleep tonight, which he rarely does. So we put on a show to try to calm him down. Ended up as a good opportunity to get some good iPhone pictures. It is hard to tell from the pictures that he is feeling out of sorts :)
-Adam-
We have been working on testing the waters of separation without jumping in too deep. He has hung out with a couple of dear friends for a couple of hours, and with my Mom and Dad a couple of times and has done very well. He did great the first couple of times in the child care area at the gym (Christopher was in the room with him) until this last time where Chris ended up having to hold him for the duration of Kerri's workout -- So Chris got one too.
This Thursday 4/25 is Michael's Cleft Palate surgery. We have be there at 6am, surgery is scheduled for 7:30 and should take about 2 hours. We don't know exactly how long he will stay in the hospital, but we are told to plan on a couple of days. We are not looking forward to putting him through the pain and recovery, but are looking forward to giving him the opportunity to eat normal foods and to be able to say consonants. He is trying so hard to talk, but is put at an obvious disadvantage with his palate being open. We will post updates as we get through the surgery.
We do ask for prayers for a successful surgery, minimal pain ( this is known to be an incredibly painful procedure), and Speed recovery. We are anticipating a week or 2 of rough going as he recovers.
He has become enough a part of our regular routine that we no longer have hundreds of pictures each week to sift through to put on the blog :) Kerri did get this awesome video of him ready and willing to show off his vocabulary.
He has been feeling a little off today, we are not sure if it is teeth, or fighting a bug, or just anticipating having surgery in 4 days. He woke up after falling asleep tonight, which he rarely does. So we put on a show to try to calm him down. Ended up as a good opportunity to get some good iPhone pictures. It is hard to tell from the pictures that he is feeling out of sorts :)
-Adam-
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)