Sunday, Oct. 31, 2010 - Happy Halloween!

I got my breathing tube out this morning which I am sooo happy about! My mom and dad are so happy to be able to see my whole face again! I am still pretty cranky today after a pretty fussy Saturday afternoon, evening and early Sunday. I haven't gotten too much sleep because I'm feeling pretty uncomfortable but none of us are exactly sure why. Mom and dad think I might have a little gas because they started giving me milk again through my feeding tube, but I am also trying to adjust to being off my strong pain meds! I am still getting a little morphine to help, but the doctors say it is important to wean me off all of these medications so I am doing the best I can! I did find out that I love my pacifier as mom predicted! I sucked on that earlier and fell right to sleep, so mom and dad are hoping that helps me relax, too. I don't have a costume this year because Iron Man doesn't come in my size but I do have some cute onesies and of course my pumpkin hats!
*I want to thank my awesome friend Jessica for making my blog look so nice - she did a great job!

My room in the CICU

Here are some pictures of my room!

Saturday, Oct. 30, 2010

Good morning! It looks like a really pretty day outside my window but I am snoozing in my crib with my dalmation lovie right now. It's already been a pretty eventful day for me - I got started on some new medicine to reduce the swelling in my trachea so I can get my breathing tube out tomorrow (yay!) and Dr. Huddleston came in and removed my chest tube (another yay - I hated when they stripped that thing!). Last night, I got pretty cranky so I got a little extra dose of my pain meds and I am feeling much better. I am still off the milk until Dr. Larson decides my tummy and intestines are ready to handle it. For now, everyone is waiting for me to poop to make sure everything looks "clean" before they try some more feedings. I am having visitors again, which I love, and I am trying my best to open my eyes for a little bit while people are here. Everyone says I am a real cutie, even with the crazy haircut I got when they were trying to get some picc lines in my head last week. My mom, dad and I are ready for another quiet day while I rest up and continue to get better!

Friday Oct. 29, 2010

Today is Halloween at the hospital and lots of employees have dressed up for the occasion. My mom and dad decided that they should dress me up as much as they could so I am wearing my new pumpkin hat and Halloween socks! My friend Melanie knit me a beautiful pumpkin hat (see below) but I am waiting to wear it once I have all these sensors off my head!
I had a pretty good day yesterday and got lots of sleep. Last night I had another little blood pressure episode but once I got some more blood, I was feeling much better! They also started giving me some milk again through a feeding tube but wanted to do it very slowly because of the problems I had with my abdomen before surgery. Right now I am taking a little break from the milk to see how my stomach handles it. The doctors also started reducing my sedation meds so I am much more awake this morning! I have been staring at my overhead heater and my giant spider balloon that mom and dad got me yesterday. They are also slowly backing me off my ventilator support to get me ready to take this darn breathing tube out. I been sucking on my breathing tube quite a bit so I am hoping that mom and dad give me a pacifier once this thing is out of my mouth!
Dr. Canter came in to talk to us this morning and said I was doing really well! He said that with all of the issues I had before my surgery, he and Dr. Huddleston have been pleasantly surprised with how good everything has gone so far, or "better than they expected" as he put it - so I'm really happy about that! I know my mom and dad expected me to do well from the start so that is no surprise to them!

Thursday, Oct. 28, 2010

Yesterday afternoon I had my chest sutured up by Dr. Huddleston. I did really well but later in the evening my blood pressure fell a little bit so I got some more meds added and a nice blood transfusion - mom called me her little vampire but I think it was a really bad joke :) After all that excitement, I had a nice quiet evening and slept a bunch. This morning I was taken off my paralytic meds again and I started waking up pretty quickly. I also had some special visitors, which I love! Akshay came by again to see me and to talk to my mom and dad about my progress. He said all the nurses at MoBap were thinking about me and wanted him to report on how I've been doing. Mom and dad told him how strong I am and how well I've been recovering and it sounds like they are all very proud of me! Akshay said they've also been sharing my story with some new moms at the hospital to make sure they take the full time in the hospital after they deliver their new little babies. No need to rush out of there just in case something is not quite right - just look how lucky I was!
My pediatrician, Dr. Kreusser also came by to see me this morning. I decided to open my eyes up wide to see what all the noise was about and she got to see my big baby blues! Once I'm out of here I know she's going to be a great doctor for me, along with all the other doctors at Children's that I'll be visiting quite a bit.
So for the rest of the day I am going to try to rest up and keep healing while my mom and dad hang out by my side.

Visits...

Hi all,

While we would love for everyone to meet Will, we would like to limit visitors due to his delicate health. So please contact me or Chris before coming to the hospital. We would really prefer to save visits for when Will is healthier and setting a time up with me or Chris beforehand will be the best for Will when the time is right. Thank you for understanding!
*P.S. I love my blankie from Sarah, Dan, Joseph and Lennon!

Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010 - Halloween Costume Idea

My buddy Aidan thought I might want to be Iron Man for Halloween this year and I think that's a great idea! I might have to wait to celebrate a little later this year but I think I'd make a great Iron Man! Hopefully my mom and dad can find a costume in my size.