Brooks is really working hard everyday to recover and feel better. We thank God that he gives us peace and comfort everyday. God has made Brooks such a fighter. During the course of the week he has had lots of changes. The doctors have weened his Nitric Oxide from 20 to 5. At the beginning of the week he was on 4 liters of oxygen. Today he has been weened down to 2.5 liters of oxygen. He has been doing great.
We set up his pack and play in his hospital room and decorated it with lots of color and his stuffed animals. He absolutely loves his tummy time!! He loves to lay on his tummy and "swim". We are so pleased that he is getting some adequate time to develop his motor skills.
Prayers are still greatly needed. This week Brooks took a field trip to Children's Hospital for a test regarding his feeds. They closely watched him eat through an X-ray. The results showed that while swallowing some of the formula slipped down past his vocal chords. If this happens to children or adults we cough and our eyes begin to water. Brooks doesn't realize it, so the liquid just goes down the wrong way. In order to fix this, they have thickened his feeds to the consistency of honey. He loves it!!
The doctors also wanted a consultation with an ENT to make sure that his vocal chords were not damaged due to the entubation. Oddly, the ENT was Blake Golden, a guy I went to high school with. He was very gentle with Brooks. He said that Brooks' vocal chords look good. He has no paralyzing of the vocal chords and they are moving properly. He said that they are probably just sore from the entubation.
Another concern regards his kidneys. This week he had several diapers containing blood in his urine. The doctors strongly suspect kidney stones. They have a specialist coming to run tests next week. I am praying that God will heal his body. Brooks is such a strong and happy baby. I know as he grows he will bring glory to God.
Thank you again for continuing to pray for my sweet baby. He is so precious and has a great outlook, especially with everything he has been through.
Ashley, I am glad to hear of his improvements. I keep you family in my prayers. I know God has something very special. He is an AWESOME God.
ReplyDeletethis news is good to hear. ashley, you are such a strong Godly woman and i am so proud of you! brooks is so very blessed to have such an incredible mommy. i will continue my prayers. hope to see you soon.
ReplyDeleteLove this shirt...those 'wimpy white boys' of the NICU DEFINTELY make the rules! So I was reading your latest post and thought it very intersting about his feeding. Tobi had the exact same issue, unfortunately for us, they didnt find the primary aspiration problem till he was almost 2!!! Can you imagine?! It was awful, thinking about what could have happened as he drank everyday, BUT that's great they've already established these test to find these things so early on! Tobi's was probably worse in the long run because of the late finding. I'm so glad to hear his continued progress! He looks so much like you!!! Next time I'm out that way, I'm gonna stop by and see if you guys are in. I'd love to see him up close again, cause i'm sure his HUGE compared to the last time I saw you guys!!! God is GOOD!!!!
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