Day 3 Post-Op: A Quick Update

Here's a quick rundown of the day's happenings, folks:

• Jude continued to have good blood gases the few times that they were tested today; consequently, he was weaned a little bit on his ventilator settings. Praise God!
• His chest tube, urinary catheter, and femoral venous catheter were all pulled today, and in place of the femoral line he got a midline catheter inserted on the right side of his head. So that's three things out, one thing in. We're cool with that!
• Jude's x-ray from this morning was still hazy, so he got more doses of Lasix today to help with getting rid of the extra fluid. Lots of peeing going on over here.
• His pain seemed to be under much better control today. That was awesome, considering how much pain he's been in recently. He snoozed quite a bit while I (Brian) was with him today, but he did wake up a few times just to look around. We read books together! :)
• Jude had another poopie diaper today! Actually, he's had a number of them since he's been born, but he's had, like, 3 poopies in the last 24-36 hours, which I believe is a good sign of bowel functioning. Getting little bits of breast milk through a feeding tube may soon follow!

While we pray for God to heal Jude and continue to accomplish His plans through him, will you also pray with us about these specific things, please?

• Jude's fluid management. His hazy chest x-ray signals fluid retention, which has been expected but nonetheless needs resolution. Please pray that it will get better and that the doctors' interventions will be successful.
• Weaning on the ventilator. No one wants Jude on any kind of mechanical ventilation longer than is necessary, as it can (and does) injure patients' lungs to varying degrees, especially when used for long periods of time. The medical staff follow "gentle ventilation" protocol to minimize any damage to Jude's lungs, but please pray for Jude to have increasingly better gas exchange in his lungs so he can wean and get off the vent as soon as possible.
• Jude's heart function and pulmonary hypertension. He should get an echocardiogram either late tonight or tomorrow morning, so we're told, and the results will give us an update on Jude's heart function and pulmonary hypertension. (Side note: Jude's heart is still more on the right side of his chest and hasn't moved to the left side yet.) Please pray for his little heart and the vessels in his lungs, that they will be healthy and work properly.
• Jude's stomach and bowel. He's almost 40 days old now, and he hasn't really used his stomach and bowel yet, and things can get a little sticky when organs aren't used over time. Please pray that his GI tract responds well to stimulation through trophic feeding, and that he won't have any other issues with digestion (e.g. bowel obstruction).
  

Rose and I still don't feel 100% well, as we've both been down with a little illness. Please pray for our quick recovery (particularly for Rose) so we can see our little man without putting him at hazard for germs.

Thank you very much for reading and for interceding on Jude's behalf. Good night!