ANDREW - Today Andrew underwent surgery to insert a Nephrostomy tube to drain his left kidney about 11am this morning. They were able to insert, under x-ray, a small tube to drain his kidney. They drained more than 200 milliliters from him. The tube will continue to stay in his kidney to drain any further liquid. His left kidney is still swollen but not nearly as bad as his right kidney was. It is not giving him any troubles yet and still produces plenty of urine. His right kidney was so swollen that it began to decrease the amount of blood flow to it. This in turn causes his kidney to produce a hormone that increases his blood pressure. So after the surgery his blood pressure steadily dropped to normal. The diameter of his abdomen reduced 4 cm from 36 cm to 32 cm. After the nephrostomy surgery he was given an Esophagram (barium swallow test) which can detect any leaks in his esophagus after the surgery. We are glad to say he didn't have any leaks in his esophagus. Unfortunately when they were moving him after the Esophagram, his chest tube was accidentally dislodged. This caused a small amount of air to leak into his chest. They had to immediately return him to the NICU. They were able to patch the small hole in his chest and start him on 100% oxygen to help reduce the air in his chest. So he no longer has the chest tube and his esophagus is on the mend. He will now be able to get his food from a feeding tube through his mouth. Step by step he gets closer and closer to going home. He still has a ways to go but when we think about all that has happened in just 11 days it could be sooner than we think. However, we were not able to hold him yet because he has a small dome over his head which is providing him oxygen and his vitals weren't very stable. His heart rate was extremely high and he was in a lot of pain from the procedures done earlier today. We hope to be able to hold him tomorrow. Over the past week he has been through so much punishment but he continues to do well. (PICTURE: Andrew recovering after surgery with an oxygen bubble)
AARON - Today Aaron is still doing really well. He continues to sleep well and swallows every bottle we give him. We are amazed at how content and easy going he is. But we know as he gets older that will change. So we are enjoying every moment with him. Katie's step mother has been helping us for the past few days and has been a great help. Unfortunately she goes back to St. George tomorrow, so we will miss her help. (PICTURE: Aaron is ready for his nap)
2 comments:
The McCoy family is thinking about you often. We can't wait to meet your little boys. Yeah for Aaron being home and for Andrew's progress!!
I was just looking over your blog and scrolled down to look at the earliest pictures. I love the one of Andrew giving us the bird! I guess I hadn't noticed it before. I like that kid's attitude. It looks like he's a fighter and not gonna take a lot of crap (at least not any more than he absolutely has to). Way to go, Andrew (and Aaron, too). They're both really cute. I hope the parents are getting some rest!
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