Day 28: Happy 1 month birthday!

Scott and Susanne cannot believe that their little boy is already one month old. These have been the craziest four weeks of their lives. They are so proud of Paxton for being such a fighter especially yesterday during his surgery. Every single day with Paxton is a true blessing.
Scott had to go back to Pennsylvania today. He was able to leave later in the morning than he usually does so that he could make sure Paxton was doing well 24 hours after the surgery. Susanne was very excited about this because she got a little more snuggle time with Scott which was extra special. Scott and Susanne had such a long, emotional day yesterday so this quality time together was much needed.
Susanne went to visit Paxton later in the afternoon. She was shocked to see how swollen he appeared especially in his face. It almost looked like someone had punched him in both eyes. Poor thing.
The doctors updated Susanne on Paxton's status. She was told that he was unable to be extubated overnight because he had some set backs. The doctors evaluated some chest x-rays this morning and noted that Paxton had a collapsed lung lobe. He started receiving more aggressive pressure controlled ventilation to try to help correct the problem. They also noted that he still had fluid build up in his lungs so they continued to give Lasix, the diuretic, as needed. Throughout the day, they had to suction out his endotracheal tube whenever he sounded congested. The respiratory technician started to notice that some of what they were removing had a yellowish tinge to it later in the day. The doctors decided to send out a culture to see if there was any evidence of an infection. It will take a few days for those results to come back. Also, he had to get another blood transfusion because he became anemic again after surgery. They will be doing follow up bloodwork and rechecking his chest x-rays early tomorrow morning to get an overall assessment of how he's responded to the treatments. Otherwise, he was hanging in there. What a trooper.
Susanne found that it was more difficult to touch and comfort Paxton in his new crib. The height of the crib was much higher than the isolette and there was no way for her to place her hands on Paxton without having to stand the whole time. She made sure to touch and talk to him whenever he was having anything done to him so that he knew she was there. It was so difficult for Susanne to watch him get upset and not be able to hold him or comfort him. It was just like how it was the first couple of weeks in the NICU. It made Susanne upset all over again, however, she tried not to let it get the best of her because she knew she needed to be strong for her son.


"Be grateful for your blessing.
Don't envy other's blessings.
Don't waste your life.
Don't dream your life.
Live your dreams.
Everyday is a blessing."

Joakim von Ditmar