Thursday Micah update

Thanks for checking in to see how our little guy is doing.  His weight this morning put him at about 22% higher than his normal weight.  That's great compared to the 40% higher that he showed on Sunday.  But Micah was positive on fluid most of the day today (meaning, he was given more fluid than he peed off... not what we want, so they're increasing his diuretic and not taking out the chest tube).  His color is "normal."  His skin is peeling and bleeding in some places, but I hear that's common when recovering from the extensive rash he experienced a few days ago.

They tried giving him some food through his g-tube yesterday and overnight.  Unfortunately, all that was given ended up coming out of his tube when they checked his residual this morning (nothing moved downstream).  So we wait another 24 hours and try again.  Getting Micah's bowels to function again is probably going to be the biggest issue related to his release home.  He seems to be doing well from a respiratory function.  He is taking more breaths on his own today but it does not appear that he will get off the vent until this weekend.

It's a tough balance to strike with paralytic drugs (super dose of muscle relaxant), sedation, and getting Micah to breath more independently.  But he's doing better today than yesterday.  Since arriving here, he has not had one day worse than the previous day, which is not what we were told to expect.  So that's very good news.

Specific prayers:

• More independent breathing
• Digestive tract to "wake up" and start working
• Continue to expel fluid, through chest tube and urine
Here's a photo of Micah with his pals yesterday.
Say hello to Barkers, Sock Monkey, Dandy Dog, and Lancelot.

Doesn't Barkers look concerned?  He's been with Micah the longest (we brought him with us from home before anything else because we thought Barkers would be lonely in Micah's crib all alone at home).

Here's a photo of Barkers taking care of Micah on Monday by holding up his ventilator tubing.

(Micah's head is hiding behind Barkers)