Friday Night (6-26)

We are all back together again! Troy and Hanna came back to Omaha this afternoon after going home last night. Hanna went to school today, and Troy took care of some things in Lincoln, like going out to lunch with his work buddies :-) I hung out with Kade and watched his blood pressure dip below "acceptable levels." This was frustrating to watch, but my anxiety was lessened once I learned it was being caused from a new sedative he was started on. The new sedative is working well, and his blood pressure is good!

At about 5pm they finally pulled his OG tube out. Good thing they did, otherwise I was going to let Kade take care of it!! I had to pry his little fingers off of it twice, just shortly before the nurse came and removed it. He definitely still has his determination and spunk! Kade now sports the latest in feeding tube fashion. It is a beautiful pale yellow, with black number accents going directly through his nose and down into his stomach. It has continuous Similac running thorough it at the impressive rate of 1 ml/hour! I have not heard of a schedule yet, but I would assume that the rate will increase rapidly once he lets us know his body is ready. He did have a little poopy diaper today, a wonderful sign of progress!!

All in all today was a good day for Kade. We look forward to getting more food in his belly, lungs nice and clear and him off of the ventilator. As I write this, I think about how great it will be to get out of the PICU, but am sad that we will not get to interact with the wonderful staff on this floor on a daily basis. They will always hold a special place in our hearts!!