Journal entry by Lauren Shelor —
I've been terrible about updating over the last couple of days, but it seems like every moment of the day has been filled with either some type of therapy, Sawyer playing and talking to us, or feeding bottles!
He really is doing great. I'm almost scared to say it out loud for fear of something happening, but he has had a nearly picture perfect recovery. If his chest x-ray looks good this morning, I think we're going home today!!!!! With a new heart!!!
Here are the highlights since our last update:
-chest tube and NG tube are OUT! He is eating wonderfully. He lost a little bit of weight after surgery so we're working on putting that back on him. Remember those delicious rolls on his legs? We have lost those a bit, so we need to get them back!
-All IVs are out. That was absolutely heartbreaking to watch - Sawyer screamed at the top of his lungs. His skin is so sensitive and we had to get multiple layers of tape and gauze off of 3 different IV sites. Ugh.
-Sawyer has acquired quite the collection of girlfriends here. He is flirting up a storm, talking to all the ladies, and giving so many smiles.
-I didn't think it was possible for Sawyer to come out of surgery more happy than he was before (simply because he was the happiest kid I've ever seen in the first place), but HE DID. The kid literally laughed himself to sleep last night. Like --- What?!! He is constantly smiling and talking to us.
-We are continuing to feed breastmilk through the diagnosis of chylothorax. All of our doctors seem to think that's fine. His chest tube output didn't pick up or get worse after we started feeding him breastmilk, so we're going to continue to do it. Monogen tastes gross and we didn't want to go home with an NG.
-He's been enjoying many wagon rides around the unit to visit his new friends!
-Sawyer's new heart is functioning beautifully. I'm still processing the depth of what that means to me. I can't even explain it. The fact that God ordained a brilliant surgeon's hands to mend Sawyer's heart so that he can live a long and healthy life with us means everything to me.
He really is doing great. I'm almost scared to say it out loud for fear of something happening, but he has had a nearly picture perfect recovery. If his chest x-ray looks good this morning, I think we're going home today!!!!! With a new heart!!!
Here are the highlights since our last update:
-chest tube and NG tube are OUT! He is eating wonderfully. He lost a little bit of weight after surgery so we're working on putting that back on him. Remember those delicious rolls on his legs? We have lost those a bit, so we need to get them back!
-All IVs are out. That was absolutely heartbreaking to watch - Sawyer screamed at the top of his lungs. His skin is so sensitive and we had to get multiple layers of tape and gauze off of 3 different IV sites. Ugh.
-Sawyer has acquired quite the collection of girlfriends here. He is flirting up a storm, talking to all the ladies, and giving so many smiles.
-I didn't think it was possible for Sawyer to come out of surgery more happy than he was before (simply because he was the happiest kid I've ever seen in the first place), but HE DID. The kid literally laughed himself to sleep last night. Like --- What?!! He is constantly smiling and talking to us.
-We are continuing to feed breastmilk through the diagnosis of chylothorax. All of our doctors seem to think that's fine. His chest tube output didn't pick up or get worse after we started feeding him breastmilk, so we're going to continue to do it. Monogen tastes gross and we didn't want to go home with an NG.
-He's been enjoying many wagon rides around the unit to visit his new friends!
-Sawyer's new heart is functioning beautifully. I'm still processing the depth of what that means to me. I can't even explain it. The fact that God ordained a brilliant surgeon's hands to mend Sawyer's heart so that he can live a long and healthy life with us means everything to me.
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