Sorry that it’s been a few days since I’ve posted an update. Not much has happened the past few days, which is a good thing. We think we’ve got James under control to the point that we think he’s ready to go home. I think we’re ALL ready to go home. Come to think of it, James doesn’t know what home is. He has spent the first two months of his life…his entire life…in the hospital. He has never seen the blue sky or clouds. He has never felt the warm sun on his face. He has never seen green grass, trees, or flowers. All he has known for his entire life is the hospital with its drab, off-white walls, and the frequent beeping of medical equipment. It’s kind of depressing.
We did have a minor mishap today. James’ G-tube sprung a leak. The surgeon that put it in came down to take a look, decided to remove it, and put a Mic-Key button in its place. This is actually really cool. It’s a G-tube, but instead of having the tube attached all the time, it’s detachable. It’s hard to explain in words, so here is a picture of what it looks like:
In the pic above, you can see James’ Mic-Key button. Instead of the originally G-tube being one piece that is sewn in place, the Mic-Key button is actually two pieces. There is the “button” piece that is inserted into the same hole that the originally G-tube was in, and then there is the “extension” that is inserted into the button for feeding and administering of meds. The extension can be removed when not in use.
We’re doing an overnight ‘Care by Parent’ tonight, and if all goes well with no issues, we will be going home tomorrow! I described what the “Care by Parent’ is in a post a couple of weeks ago, but in case you missed it: For the Care by Parent, James would be moved into another room in the NICU where it will just be him and us. Stacy and I would need to take care of him for one or two nights with no assistance from nurses. It’s kind of like a practice run of being at home, but if there is a significant issue or an emergency, the NICU nurses are right across the hall. Wish us luck!
