In The PICU

Carter is recovering tonight in the PICU.

Mommy and Daddy came home to get some rest. That was a LONG nine hours...on all accounts!

Carter is doing OK. They tried extubating him while he was still in the OR to try and send him to the regular recovery area. He had a hard time, so they ended up reintubating him. I really wish that they would have never attempted it, but they were giving him the chance to have a shorter stay in the hospital.

Seeing him afterward was REALLY hard for us. We haven't seen him intubated since the end of August, and that seems like a lifetime ago. I know that he's hurting a lot, and he was crying so hard but no noise was coming out because of the breathing tube. If you look at the top picture you can see the stitches on his upper eyelid, and the two bruises on his forehead which made him look even more in need of some lovin'. I could tell by his facial expressions that he just wanted to be snuggled by Momma, but there was nothing I could do. I couldn't even hold his hand because there were IV's in both sides. They upped his pain medications and gave him some sedation, but when we had to leave (due to shift change) he was still pretty upset. All of these surgeries are painful on their own, and the thought of them all together gets a little overwhelming. We truly believe that doing them all together is still in the best interest of Carter.

We get a lot of questions asking when Carter gets to come home. This all depends on him. They discussed trying to extubate him tomorrow, but it will really depend on how swollen his airway is. On one hand I hope that they attempt it to get him home quicker, but on the other I know that the poor kid needs a break and needs time for that little body to heal. Thank you so much for all of the prayers and well wishes. We appreciate them more than you know!

Another Update

Echocardiogram = Check. Still waiting to hear the results though, so please pray for good ones.

Eyelid = Check. Carter's going to look like Rocky. The doctor said that his eye will be so swollen that he won't be able to open it for a few days, and he has stitches on the top and bottom lids.

Urology = Check. Still waiting to talk to the doctor about it, but it seems to have gone well.

ABR (hearing test) = Check. His hearing has gotten worse. They think it's due to fluid behind his eardrum. We have an appt with ENT next month, so we'll talk about it more then. Luckily, this doesn't affect his hearing aid, so he can still hear with it on.

Plastic Surgery = In Progress. They have taken the mold for the new prosthetic hard palate, but the plastic surgeon has not started on the soft palate yet. Hopefully not too much longer.

The nurse says that Carter's doing great. Keep on Keepin' On little buddy!!

Surgery Update

He's doing well so far.

They took Carter back at about 7:40, and the nurse said that his intubation (inserting the breathing tube) went well.

They finished the Echocardiogram, and his eyelid. Urology is in there working on him right now.

So that's one surgeon down. One working on him now...and one to go.

I'll update again when I can.

Walking And Waiting

Carter went on his very first walk yesterday. Michael helped plant a garden in my parent's yard, so we had to go up and water the plants. It's only a few blocks away, so we decided to take advantage of the nice weather and go for a walk. Contrary to what this picture shows, he loved feeling the breeze between those little toes. We get to do this every day during the Summer.

I'm just trying to tie up loose ends today. It's tough when you have no idea how long you're going to be away. I can't spend the night with him while he's in the ICU, but plan to once he transfers to the floor. I'm still waiting for the call to tell us what time to be up there. I'm guessing that it will be early in the morning since one of the doctors has to perform his surgery before his clinic appointments. I'll keep you posted. Since we're going to have a long wait, and the hospital has WIFI, I'll be updating on here and Facebook throughout the day. Any prayers and good thoughts are appreciated.

The Colt Stampede

On Friday, Michael participated in our niece's school 5K. He took 13th overall in the race, and 2nd in his age group (old man). The kids and I stayed behind and waited, but we will be participating in the next one on Memorial Day as long as Carter is up for it.

Here's Michael stretching with our niece Emily (the author)




Mikey showing off his one missing tooth. He's lost the other one on top since then.

My other niece, Samantha (in her awesome Team Carter shirt), brother-in-law Justin, and sister-in-law Stacy.

At the finish line!

Way to go to all of the runners in our family. Even Grandma Geri finished the 5K. You guys are amazing!

Just a heads up to anyone who doesn't know. Lacey is holding an auction over on Makayla's blog to raise money to bring this little sweetie home. Take a peek and see if anything catches your eye. The bidding ends tomorrow!