We started maintenance a week or two ago...I am loosing track of time. So far so good. Today though is another huge deal. During his dressing change on Monday we were able to take a picture and send it to our nurse practitioner. I have been saying for a few weeks now that the cuff, the "balloon" that holds his line in was basically out. It was hard to tell when his dressing was on and so finally I got proof. She emailed it to the line NP and and she said that the line had to come out immediately. We have been hoping for a port for sometime now and he didn't weigh enough. Even though he still did not weigh enough he was able to have a port placed today anyways! This is nice in so many ways. 1. He doesn't have tubes coming out of his chest. 2. I don't have to flush is every day. 3. The risk of infection is less due to the fact that I don't have to change his dressing or caps weekly. Also its not always accessed. 4. He can have a normal bath without covering it or worrying about it getting wet. 5. I don't have to worry about his tubes dragging on the floor or him pulling it out. Since he doesn't have a dressing his skin won't get irritated with the summer heat. Bottom line this is a major deal in my eyes and will make everyones life easier. The downside is that in order to use it the nurses have to stick a needle in his chest. Good thing we have a tough guy and lidocaine cream so hopefully all will be good. We also get to go swimming this summer! Wahoo!!! Thank you for all the continued thoughts and prayers! We really appreciate it all!