Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Fighting Through it All







Zach had his respirator removed last night, Praise God!!  He also had his catheter removed, and is on virtually no pain meds, dealing with everything on his own. This morning was VERY positive and the outlook was great. The picture above is how he looked when we saw him this morning, what a handsome guy!!  When we stopped by before lunch to see the little guy things had changed slightly.  The nurse said he had two "fairly significant" episodes where he was "forgetting" to breath.  So to ensure things would not get any worse they hooked him up to a CPAP, a machine that has two tubes that deliver air and slight pressure through his nose to help him breath a little easier by lessening the amount of force Zach has to use to fill his lungs with air.  The respirator did the breathing for him, the CPAP is only used to help, it's still up to him to do all the respiring, which is really good.  The more he can do on his own the better.  Shortly after they had him hooked up he returned to his usual restful state, and all of his vitals returned to good levels.  We call him our little fighter and by the looks of these pictures he just finished up a 12 round bout.  His face and hands are petty swollen from having his little tush elevated, so all the fluids are draining down to his head area.  He's still fighting, still improving, and still amazing.  
Dr. Wilkinson (Dr. Handler's partner) just stopped by our room and updated us on Zachary.  Things are looking good and he seems to have pretty good movement in his legs. It looks like Friday morning will be the day they flip him over to his back and hopefully we can hold him!! We were hoping for tomorrow, but we'll just wait out one more day. Hopefully once he is onto his back the fluids can flow back down from his head and he can come off of the CPAP, so pray for that!  Kimmie is being discharged tomorrow, so now a new chapter begins with us having to commute down to the hospital daily to see him.  We're keeping up with our visiting/pumping/eating/resting schedule and we'll continue for the rest of his stay here.  He is a true blessing and we're so excited to have him finally in the world!! Love to you all - Brian + Kimmie   










3 comments:

  1. Hello Zurliene Family! Just wanted to let you know I am thinking about you and sending well wishes your way. The Crate people keep asking about you and keeping you in their thoughts and prayers. Thanks for keeping us posted. Much love to all of you! ~Darcie

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  2. Dear Kimmie & Brian.I was so sorry to hear about Zach this morning.I'm sure you have the best Dr.'s, and that tough little guy will come through this with no more complications.Our prayers are with you. We love all three of you.Steven still can't wait to hold him. Love,Doris & Steven

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  3. Hi Brian and Kimmie
    It is Monday evening and I am so sorry to hear that little Zach had to have more surgery. I am very greatful though that the doctors are watching things so closely and fixing things before permanent damage is done. I know that Zach will be fine and so will you. God will watch over your family, keep all of you safe and grant you many, many, many more good days than bad. It is uplifting for me to see what good parents you are being, you stand shoulder to shoulder with your son and aren't afraid to walk the journey with him. Believe me, all is well.....Our Lord is with you.

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