Tuesday 11/20

Judah has been kept very calm and comfortable over the last few days. Tests continue, but he was mainly sedated and resting, waiting for the chance to get in for a couple of operations this week. He continued to get medications to stabilize his heart rate, a breathing tube to assist respiration, and other drugs just to keep him comfortable and without pain.

Today we got to have a much needed good day, after a lot of waiting. It was a busy day for little J, bright and early at 6am he was taken down for an MRI. The doctors explained to us that the CT scan is like looking at the brain using and old TV with rabbit ears, but the MRI is like a big screen High Def TV. When they first began talking about the MRI, the doctors told us that there’s no way we can expect it to come back completely normal, because of all of the things Judah has been through after his cardiac arrest almost 2 weeks ago. When the results came in today, the same doctor came up to us and said he was very surprised by just how perfect and clear Judah’s MRI showed. They found nothing that was concerning to them, and no evidence of brain damage. Very good news indeed!

But the busy day did not stop there, shortly after 10am Judah was taken back to the operating room yet again, this time to undergo an operation to insert a feeding tube, called a gastrostomy tube (g-tube) directly into his stomach so he no longer needs to have the NasoGastric (NG) tube going through his nose. He also had another major operation at the same time, the Tracheostomy, to insert a tube into his trachea to assist breathing. Both surgeries went very smoothly, with no hiccups or issues.

When he got back to the room around 3pm, we got to see our son for the first time in many weeks without any tubes in his nose or mouth. His cute face warmed our hearts, and the parade of nurses telling us how cute he is and how much they love him started up again. He is currently getting help breathing directly through the trach tube, and he was breathing very easily. They will continue to let him rest for 5-7 days, while the trach heals up, and then when he is ready, we will move forward with recovery, and mommy and daddy will begin our own trach training classes. We will learn the ins and outs of caring for a child with a trach tube, which honestly, seems more intimidating than it really is. Having the trach will give him the opportunity to come off the sedation medications, to begin feeding in higher volumes with mommy’s breastmilk, and to get up, be held, and get back to being a real baby again. We are ready to take on this challenge and help our boy start making real progress again.

Although it continues to be a long road ahead, with no clear answer on how long Judah will need the trach or the g-tube, we are confident these new tools will give Judah what he needs to really be able to step up and move forward. Of course there will still be bumps in the road, but we will take it slow, and do it together. We are pushed forward every day by the strong look in Judah’s eyes, by our love, and all of your support.

J-N-J

2 thoughts on “Tuesday 11/20

  1. What a beautiful baby! We just want to let you know that Judah has been,and will continue to be in our thoughts and prayers.

    Love,Carl and Sherry Metz
    Gans,Pa.

  2. How good it is to know that the surgery went well and that Judah is resting comfortably! I love the new picture–what a little angel he is!! I continue to pray for the three of you. May God give you the strength you need to face each new challenge.

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