Elijah is getting his bath right now from the nurse with the assistance of Daddy and auntie Carrie, so I figured I should take this opportunity to update. He did pretty good today, was awake quite a bit and playing and smiling, it was so amazing. Last night after I posted and before we went to bed his heartrate was really low and we were a little concerned, but the doctors took a look at it and said it may just be because of all the trauma during the day, he was just in a really deep sleep. They also noticed on the monitor that his heart was skipping a beat sometimes so they decided to do an EKG, but that turned out normal, so no worries there.
So today he played a lot and slept a lot and basically just hung out. The ENT people came to talk to us and said that they plan on taking him down to the OR on Monday hopefully and taking a look at him down there. They will decide then and there whether or not he can be extubated yet or not. Our doctor up here is anxious to get him extubated, because it's not good to have the tube in there for long periods of time. Obviously they won't do it if he's not ready, but we are all hoping he will be ready.
They took him on a little ride down the hall and downstairs today to get a CT scan. He was pretty interested to watch the hallway go by, considering he hasn't been out of his room in 13 days. So we got the CT scan in hopes that it might show the doctors something new, but as far as they can tell, it didn't. They said that the radiologists will take a look at it later, but they didn't find anything they didn't already know. No answers yet.
So Elijah is on steroids now to help the swelling in his throat and they said today that they could hear a leak in his tube, which means that his airway is larger than the tube and he is breathing outside of it a little, which is good news. That means the swelling has gone down a little. When they extubated him the first time, there was no leak. So this is good progress so far. But I can only imagine how swollen he is and how long it will take to heal all the damage. On Monday (hopefully) we will have a better idea.
One hard thing about today is that he is starting to get pretty emotional. He is definitely sick of being sick and having the tube in and everything. He is especially upset if I walk away from him. Sometimes even when he can't see me and he hears my voice he will start crying. A couple times he's also tried to put his arms out for me to pick him up. It's absolutely heartbreaking. I want to hold him so badly, and just somehow let him know that he's going to be ok. It's so awful when he cries because he can't make any noise, but you know he is trying so hard.
I forgot to mention in the last few posts that Chris and I did get a room in the Rossi house, which is right here in the hospital. It has been great to have such easy access to our room, so we can stay with Elijah a little later at night and come back a little earlier in the morning. Also if either of us needs a break during the afternoon we don't have to go far.
We are just so happy that he is awake and playing and being himself. The nurses and doctors are just amazed at how well behaved he is. A lot of kids can't be awake while they are intubated, but he has just been a champ. It's so clear that he is covered in prayer! And Chris and I as well! We definitely have our weak moments, but we have just been amazed by the peace that we feel. We know that this whole situation is in God's hands and we know that He loves Elijah even more than we do! We are absolutely trusting in God to take care of our baby. He has already come so much farther than the doctors expected, we are thrilled by his progress. It's hard to see him slip up sometimes and it's hard to sit and wait, but we know God is working, and His timing is not the same as our timing.
Please continue praying, don't forget about us! We are proud to say that we have the most amazing and faithful family and friends. We love and appreciate you all more than you know! Please pray for complete healing and for answers!
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