recovery

Once again, God has been merciful in granting Pierce strength to endure and recover from another surgery. The laser surgery didn't get started until about 6 (they took him back around 430 but were a little delayed for some reason) and by 830, Dr.Gillig came out to tell us that she was finished. She felt good about Pierce's prognosis and thinks that he will have a good outcome since they treated the ROP early. She will come back to reexamine him on Sunday and then again on Wednesday. Please continue to pray that this surgery will be used to heal his eyes completely and that he will have no further complications.

Nik and I didn't get much sleep last night as we stayed in our old apartment (aka NICU sleep room #2) to be close to Pierce. I really didn't anticipate all of the negative feelings that I associate with this place to come rushing back.I think Nik and I both suffer from a little post-traumatic stress disorder in regards to the NICU. (That's actually been proven to be common among NICU parents!) But as we stayed here last night, and I dealt with all of my worries and fears, I tried to remind myself of how far God has brought us and that seemed to bring some comfort. It is odd to now have the "fat" kid in the NICU. I remember the days of seeing the 6 lb baby next to Pierce and thinking it was the biggest baby I'd ever seen. Funny how your perspective shifts so easily.

Perhaps one of the things I was dreading the most was having to see lil' man back on the vent again. We were told not to expect him to be able to come off for a few days (depending on how wiped out he was from the surgery). But, once again, God was gracious. We were able to see him about an hour after surgery and wouldn't you know it, he was wide-awake, getting a bath and on the nasal cannula at 23% o2 and 4 liters!!! What a shock! I can't tell you how relieved I was to see him like that. Apparently as soon as P was awake, he was really mad that he had a tube down his throat. His nurse insisted that they either sedate him or extubate because she didn't want him suffering (thanks Ashlie!).

We had one of our favorite nurses last night and it made me so comfortable to know who had him. She got him all situated and comfortable and even put some little sunglasses on to protect his eyes. The big question of the night was whether or not Pierce's endurance would end and whether he'd have to be reintubated.

But I just went in to check on him, and he's doing great! He's at 21% and 4 liters and looking great. He's a little bruised from all the poking they did yesterday to get an IV in him, his eyes are puffy and red, and his body is a little swollen from all of the IV fluids, but other than that, he looks great. I think his biggest frustration is that he is hungry. He has worn out his pacifier waiting for someone to feed him. Hopefully, he'll be able to be fed as soon as the drs. round this morning.

Please continue to pray for healing and an easy recovery. Pray that we will be able to get back to NPCN in no time. And remember to join us in praying that Pierce's next brain scan will show that he will not require a shunt. This is probably our biggest concern right now as it would mean yet another surgery to endure.

We will update later today to let you know how P is doing. Thanks for all the prayers and support!

Love,
Lindsay, Nik and Pierce