Day 2 Post-Op

So far, today has been a reasonably good day for our little man, and we're very thankful for that! He's still in a lot of pain, but Jude's nurse and the doctors are staying on top of it with pain medication. The pain should hopefully begin to recede as time goes on, and we're praying that God would hasten that process as much as possible. We hate to know that our little man is in so much pain, especially after all he's been through already.

Throughout last night and today, Jude's blood gases have been good. Praise the Lord! Pray with us that he'll continue to oxygenate well and get rid of his CO2.

Also, please pray that Jude's progress with ventilation will progress as rapidly as possible so he can get off mechanical ventilation. The longer he's on the ventilator, the more damage his lungs will incur. His ventilators have helped preserve his life, but mechanical ventilation can slowly injure a baby's lungs, and Jude's lungs are already in a sensitive state because of his diaphragmatic hernia.

The x-ray from this morning showed increased haziness, which points to fluid retention. However, since Jude was given a dose of Lasix late this morning, he's responded very well, putting out about 400 cc of urine! We're thankful that he continues to respond well to this diuretic, and we ask for prayer that Jude's urine output would continue to be good and that his pulmonary edema and other fluid accumulation would get better.

This morning in rounds with Jude's doctors, the topic of when to begin giving him breast milk through a feeding tube came up for discussion. Jude needs to pull through this bout with post-op pain first, but we're thankful that our little man isn't too far from hopefully getting his first "taste" of his mommy's milk! Jude's little stomach and intestines haven't been used during these first 37 days of his life, so it's time to get those organs and their muscles working! While we're excited about this, we're anxious because CDH babies typically have issues with reflux, and they sometimes have other problems with their gastrointestinal system. Moreover, in Jude's case, his bowel is a big, tangled mess because of all the adhesions within it, so there's a slight possibility of a bowel obstruction either now or in the future. Please begin praying with us that Jude's process of learning to eat and digest his mommy's milk and other food will go well, and that he won't have significant problems.

I've been sick for the past few days, and unfortunately Rose is now under the weather, too. It appears that she came down with the same symptoms I've had. Please pray for our quick recovery so that we can rejoin our baby boy at his bedside.

Praise the Lord for another good day!



    Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
   
(James 5:13-18)