from our family to yours we want to wish you a very merry Christmas! gavin has really been on the road to recovery since his surgery a little over 2 weeks ago. closing out this 2010 and looking forward to what God has in store for us in 2011. we had a wonderful time celebrating Christmas Eve with my folks, josh and grandma von. it was her first time being with gavin and it was very special!
this morning we were up bright and early (thanks son!) and we had a beautiful time reading about the birth of Jesus in both Luke and Matthew.
this afternoon it's time to celebrate with the nikolin side while we have a mexican fiesta and open gifts and watch some games!
we just want to thank you all for your love, prayers and support of us during this very trying and difficult year. thank you so much for your comments along the way - they have really helped us feel your presence - making it just a bit easier to go through this.
looking forward to many more updates into the new year...
jeramy, tracee and gavin
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Friday, December 10, 2010
surgery update
gavin's surgery went well. they ended up not taking him back until 12:20 to start the surgery. i hated waiting. i know hate is a very strong word but i hated it....wondering what exactly they were doing at each moment. first they put gavin to sleep with a mask, then gave him a shot in his lower back, similar to an epidural. then they started his IV and intubated him. she ended up going in through his belly button and then inserting the tube and she went ahead and fixed his umbilical hernia on the way out. score! killing two birds with one stone, i'll say!
the doctor came out once his surgery was over and told us that the anesthesiologist was able to take him off the ventilator and that we could make our way up to the picu and he would meet us there. we walked with the doctor as she told us how the procedure went....(i wasn't listening). all i cared about was seeing gavin. where was he? i knew he wouldn't be awake yet but i just had to see him and know that he was okay. we waited outside the picu doors for only a few seconds before we saw the anesthesiologist and a nurse wheeling him toward us. he was on a mask and the anesthesiologist was trying to stimulate him so that he would keep breathing. although they extubated him, they had him at 15 liters of oxygen. to give you some perspective, gavin (who has significant lung disease) is on 1 liter at home and our concentrator at home only goes to 5 liters. in fact, jeramy and i didn't even know that oxygen could go that high. we know enough about his sats that just by looking at the monitor we knew that gavin was still struggling. he was satting in the high 70s/low 80s for his oxygen and his heartrate was low (which is why he needed the continuous stimulation). the anesthesiologist said that if didn't begin to show improvment and wean down on his oxygen, it could possibly lead to reintubation......no!!!!!
thankfully, over the course of the evening, he was able to wean down to 10 liters and then down to 3 and this morning, he is back down to 1 liter. praise Jesus! indeed, He has protected gavin once again and He has brought us through another trial.
today, we have gavin on continuous feeds (for a time being, you have to do that with g-tubes). the doctors (and jeramy and i) don't want to change anything about how we were doing feeds at home so we want to try to reintroduce bottle feeds to him. he was eating about 2 ounces by bottle and then we gavage 3 ounces. we tried giving gavin a bottle about 30 minutes ago (just an ounce) but he instantly started gagging and spit it right up. it didn't even get into his tummy. the speech therapist was here with us and she told us to expect that since he was just intubated. his airway is now floppy and his vocal cords are more open than they usually are because of the tube so...it is probably going right into his airway. we are going to give it a few more hours and try again. please pray that he eats. we fear that they won't let us go home until he shows that he can take an ounce or two and the last thing we want is to stay another night here in the picu. there are sick kiddos in other rooms around us and g doesn't need that exposure.
thank you for all of your support and prayers during this time. we greatly appreciate it. gavin is such a fighter. he is inspiring. he has tubes, wires and IVs everywhere and all he wants to do is play! he woke up this morning all smiles. he was giggling and cooing like crazy. the doctors and nurses were all amazed. they all said it is not typical for them to see such alert (and happy) behavior for babies after surgery. i love that kid.
we will keep you all posted on his progress (hopefully from home)! thanks again for the prayers.
i think it is very obvious that there is One who is making all of gavin's progress possible. to deny that, would be ignorance. he's not just a "lucky kid". i get mad when people say that. his progress has nothing to do with "luck" or "stars aligning". he is a little boy loved by the Heavenly Father-who has a plan. gavin has touched a lot of lives already. he's touched mine. has he touched yours? i hope so.
let us never forget that God is good....all the time.
the doctor came out once his surgery was over and told us that the anesthesiologist was able to take him off the ventilator and that we could make our way up to the picu and he would meet us there. we walked with the doctor as she told us how the procedure went....(i wasn't listening). all i cared about was seeing gavin. where was he? i knew he wouldn't be awake yet but i just had to see him and know that he was okay. we waited outside the picu doors for only a few seconds before we saw the anesthesiologist and a nurse wheeling him toward us. he was on a mask and the anesthesiologist was trying to stimulate him so that he would keep breathing. although they extubated him, they had him at 15 liters of oxygen. to give you some perspective, gavin (who has significant lung disease) is on 1 liter at home and our concentrator at home only goes to 5 liters. in fact, jeramy and i didn't even know that oxygen could go that high. we know enough about his sats that just by looking at the monitor we knew that gavin was still struggling. he was satting in the high 70s/low 80s for his oxygen and his heartrate was low (which is why he needed the continuous stimulation). the anesthesiologist said that if didn't begin to show improvment and wean down on his oxygen, it could possibly lead to reintubation......no!!!!!
thankfully, over the course of the evening, he was able to wean down to 10 liters and then down to 3 and this morning, he is back down to 1 liter. praise Jesus! indeed, He has protected gavin once again and He has brought us through another trial.
today, we have gavin on continuous feeds (for a time being, you have to do that with g-tubes). the doctors (and jeramy and i) don't want to change anything about how we were doing feeds at home so we want to try to reintroduce bottle feeds to him. he was eating about 2 ounces by bottle and then we gavage 3 ounces. we tried giving gavin a bottle about 30 minutes ago (just an ounce) but he instantly started gagging and spit it right up. it didn't even get into his tummy. the speech therapist was here with us and she told us to expect that since he was just intubated. his airway is now floppy and his vocal cords are more open than they usually are because of the tube so...it is probably going right into his airway. we are going to give it a few more hours and try again. please pray that he eats. we fear that they won't let us go home until he shows that he can take an ounce or two and the last thing we want is to stay another night here in the picu. there are sick kiddos in other rooms around us and g doesn't need that exposure.
thank you for all of your support and prayers during this time. we greatly appreciate it. gavin is such a fighter. he is inspiring. he has tubes, wires and IVs everywhere and all he wants to do is play! he woke up this morning all smiles. he was giggling and cooing like crazy. the doctors and nurses were all amazed. they all said it is not typical for them to see such alert (and happy) behavior for babies after surgery. i love that kid.
we will keep you all posted on his progress (hopefully from home)! thanks again for the prayers.
i think it is very obvious that there is One who is making all of gavin's progress possible. to deny that, would be ignorance. he's not just a "lucky kid". i get mad when people say that. his progress has nothing to do with "luck" or "stars aligning". he is a little boy loved by the Heavenly Father-who has a plan. gavin has touched a lot of lives already. he's touched mine. has he touched yours? i hope so.
let us never forget that God is good....all the time.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
on bended knee
gavin's surgery is scheduled for tomorrow at 11:30. we check in at 9:30 where we will meet the anesthesiologist and get started. gavin will need to be intubated and put on the ventilator for the surgery. this is obviously our biggest prayer request because of his lungs. we pray that there are no complications coming off the ventilator and that gavin is able to return to the oxygen that he is on. a kiddo like gavin with his lung disease has the possibility to struggle coming straight off the ventilator since his lungs will love the break. fortunately for us, it is not a lengthy surgery. we are grateful for that. we are also grateful for the surgeon that we have. she is the best out there. in addition, we have a top pediatric anesthesiologist who also does a ton of work with nicu babies so he's use to the more critical, tiny babies.
we will be staying a minimum of one night in the picu. hopefully we will be able to come home on friday. Jesus, hear our cry. hear our plea. please hold our baby once more and get him over another hurdle, as You have already done so many times before. we trust in You.
please please pray for me and for jeramy as well. i know that we are both dreading being away from our baby tomorrow....even for a bit. i know that every mother out there can relate to the pain they would feel having their baby put under anesthesia. i think i would feel a thousand times more confident going into this if gavin's lungs were not as bad as they are. it makes me nervous...nervous to the point that i feel sick today. the good thing is that this kid is the toughest kid i have ever met and it is truly inspiring.
thank you for praying. specifically, we would love it if everyone could join together at the time of his surgery tomorrow and pray. 11:30. be there. be praying. our God is an awesome God.
we will be staying a minimum of one night in the picu. hopefully we will be able to come home on friday. Jesus, hear our cry. hear our plea. please hold our baby once more and get him over another hurdle, as You have already done so many times before. we trust in You.
please please pray for me and for jeramy as well. i know that we are both dreading being away from our baby tomorrow....even for a bit. i know that every mother out there can relate to the pain they would feel having their baby put under anesthesia. i think i would feel a thousand times more confident going into this if gavin's lungs were not as bad as they are. it makes me nervous...nervous to the point that i feel sick today. the good thing is that this kid is the toughest kid i have ever met and it is truly inspiring.
thank you for praying. specifically, we would love it if everyone could join together at the time of his surgery tomorrow and pray. 11:30. be there. be praying. our God is an awesome God.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
family
here is a picture from our first family photo shoot that we had. my dear friend natalie montez-miller took them. she is one of the most talented photographers in arizona and we were so blessed to get to spend this day with her. check out her site if you get a chance. her link is to the right (or you can go to photosbynatalie.com. this picture melts my heart...more to come soon!
mommy and daddy love you sweet pea!
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