Friday Morning - A Josiah Update

Hi Folks

Sorry that I didn't post yesterday - it was a full day back in Abbotsford.

Josiah is doing pretty good this morning. When I showed up after shift-change this morning (8-ish) he was pretty choked and VERY upset so we gave him the works: let air out of his belly (not too much, but we learned we need to give him the BIG syringe to air out because he spilt some of his gasteric fluids/food on himself and me!), changed his trach dressing (lots of goobers seeping through the stoma/ulceration), changed his G-tube dressing (a little damp), changed the diaper (nastiness!!), changed his PJ's (g-tube & goober stains), changed over his sat-probe, changed his position, and suctioned his trach. And BAM! - happy sleeping baby! :D

Probably the biggest prayer request I have right now is that his ulceration at the bottom of his trach stoma would heal. There is a bit of notch below the trach-hole which the nurses have been applying an Acticoat (silver nitrate to promote healing), but it's actually getting a little worse (widening). Obviously this is a big concern because we want that stoma to heal up in a nice round firm circle, but right now it's widening a little downward, which means secretions seep through (probably not very hygenic!) and in case of emergency it would provide a big air leak (not good either). So please pray that the stoma would heal up completely and quickly. Right now we're doing what we can to keep pressure off the ulceration and being gentle in our handling of him, but so far it's not doing a whole lot.

When I went to Abby Wednesday night Marie did seize the opportunity to spend the night with Josiah. In short: it was horrible. He had a lousy time sleeping all night and Marie was awake pretty much until 6:30 AM with him. It was a combination of many things: it was 2 days post-op (G-tube), they had taken him off his pain killers, he was handled a lot that day (lots of movement with his belly - ouch!), and he's still learning how to get air out of his belly so when it gets full, it pushing on a very sore and sensitive abdomen (which was just operated on - double ouch). But he had a good day and night Thursday so things are looking up.

I think the nurse today wants to start teaching us how the G-tube feeding works. Crazy. Oh well, if I can still a tube down my son's throat I think I can do pretty much anything. Every once in a while we try Josiah on his 'Swedish Nose' (filter attachment for the trach), but he still has a hard time sustaining himself. It will probably be a lot easier for him when the stoma heals properly.

Marie's taking the opportunity to sleep in and take time for herself this morning. I'll aiming to be in Abby from Sat-Mon this weekend so I'm giving her the opportunity to charge up for the next few days.

I don't have my camera with me at the moment, but I'll try to post a few more pics later in the day. We do have some visitors coming in today so we'll see when I can make the time.

Thanks for all the love, everyone. In God's Graces.
- Andrew, Marie & Josiah