It's that time again...

[Rookie@51]

I'm 52 years old and a 100% Mama's boy. I remember thinking at one time in my life when I was young, that this was a bad thing. But I know how Garrett feels about his Mama as well as many here do. He loves you Chip but Mama is the one who can fix it all just by her touch and soft kisses. Daddy's just don't have that just right touch of a Mama. Thank God for Mama's past, present and future and praise God that Garrett can run. I guess we need to be praying that God will give you the speed to keep up with him. LOL!.......Dusty

[Doc Nock]

Praises for the improvement.

Peace over the continued concerns and strength for them to be "turned over"

Prayers for continued headling for the li'l guy and for his folks to find rest and recuperation in the hours, days, & weeks to come.

[Hooked]

Originally posted by Rookie@51:
I'm 52 years old and a 100% Mama's boy. I remember thinking at one time in my life when I was young, that this was a bad thing. But I know how Garrett feels about his Mama as well as many here do. He loves you Chip but Mama is the one who can fix it all just by her touch and soft kisses. Daddy's just don't have that just right touch of a Mama. Thank God for Mama's past, present and future and praise God that Garrett can run. I guess we need to be praying that God will give you the speed to keep up with him. LOL!.......Dusty

Ya, I know! I am the same way.  My Dad was definitely not one to go to for sympathy, but Mom could always make me feel better!

Garret wants me when it is play time though!

[Hooked]

Looks like I will be heading home for the night, drive to St Louis tomorrow for work, then to Des Moines, and back on Friday.  Hopefully, Garrett will be home by the time I get back in town!  I hate not to be here to bring him home, but I still have to pay the bills.

He had a great day!  Still working on getting more fluid out of his chest, have to ween him off the oxygen, etc.

They removed the dressing on his chest today.   He is starting to get upset anytime a nurse touches him, like he expects there to be pain!

Thanks again for all the prayers!  But please don't stop them yet!

[Doc Nock]

Won't stop praying for you, Suzie, the girls or li'l Fartblossom Garrett till he's carrying Pappy's treestands for him!  

Garrett will be so happy to get home, he might just forgive his Daddy for being off making moola to keep grub in the fridge!

Just wait till he starts eating again... you'll have to get a part-time job to keep the shelves stocked!  

What a glorious day that will be, eh, Chip.

Travel safe, Amigo! Keep the shiney side up and your mind on the road ahead.

Lord in your Mercy!

[CoilSpring]

Father God, Your work is evident here in Garrett's life, his health, and his continued improvement.  We praise you for Your wonderful miracles in his young life, for sustaining him through the surgeries, strengthening his weaknesses, preventing infections, and guiding the doctors' hands to Your will.  You are the Creator, the Great Physician, and our God who loves us.  Thank You Lord for what You have done! Amen.

[StoneAK]

I am speechless we will keep you in our prayers. You are a good father and a good man keep on praying and praising the Lord there is power in prayer God Bless

[Hooked]

Postd by my wife today:

"Garrett's chest x-rays continue to improve with each day.  The drainage from his blake drains have slowed down quite a bit.   The doctors all say he looks clinically good.  I am a little worried about the dark circles under his eyes and the sunken in look they have.  I know his little body has been through so much.  However, I have just noticed this change with him the last few days.  The doctors reassure me that he is fine.  He may be a little dehydrated because we are trying to pull the extra fluid off of his lungs still.  He is finally eating somewhat better.  Hopefully, this is just me being a worrying & exhausted mom.  However, I do continually ask every doctor that comes in the room what they think.  I have found that if you ask the same question to 15 different people, you will get 15 different answers.  We still don't know when we will come home.  Some say maybe the weekend.  But, that is just a guess.  Thank you for all of your prayers and love!

Chip had to go to St. Louis and Iowa for work.  I know that is hard on him to leave Garrett.  Thank you Chip for being such a great dad and husband.  We love you!"

Just talked to Suzie and she said she is afraid to post positive stuff because then something happens.  She mentioned above that she was worried about the way he looks and how tired he was today.  Now he is running a low grade fever and his breathing rate is high.  If his fever doesn't go away they will have to do labs (another needle stick) to see if there is an infection.  This is similar to what happened before he ended up back inthe ICU.   They also think he has popped his IV again because of all the pain he is in when they run anything through the IV.

We have made some great progress!  Please pray that his fever goes away and we continue the progress!

[Doc Nock]

Dear Suzie and Chip,

First, Suzie, don't fall prey to my silly way of viewing life that if you share something positive it will disappear. That is the devil's own hand at work. I grew up in that culture of germanic nonsense that to be happy was being ungodly...I fight it daily!  

Praise each improvement for what it is. Doesn't mean there won't be setbacks as there will. They're rebuilding your baby's body one part at a time! Amazing! God provided the technology and skill for it to happen, but it's "against the grain" and there will be setbacks galore in the process.

What I notice (NOT having to watch that li'l child suffer or his parents reserves dwindle) is that there have been all these "setbacks" and returns to NICU, but with each down turn, Garrett comes back quicker and stronger each time.

The 15 different answers rather tie back to Chip's tag line...cause those 15 doctors are mere mortals and they don't truly know and can only make "educated guesses". ONly God knows and right now, He's asking...even demanding that you all go on Faith...which is believing in what cannot be seen nor proven.

If Garrett's poppin IV's he may get some infiltration which can cause some minor infection...

Prayers abound from us all to avert any more complications or set backs, but when they come, we all have to rally up and pray harder.

My prayers are now more for you two than Garrett.

God's got Garrett in the palm of his everlasting hand... but it's you who think, worry, and push yourselves that my prayers for peace and strength focus on at this time.

Keep the Son in your eyes!

[Hooked]

Doc and others,
Thanks for the time you take to post words to help us feel better and boost our faith!  Not that our faith needs boosting, but your words remind us sometimes where our thoughts should be.

Garrett just had his chest drains removed.  I listened by phone, not fun.  He crashed when they removed his drains after his first surgery, so it is a high stress moment for mom and dad.  Well...and for Garrett too!  He was not happy at all!

The next step is they are taking him down for x-rays.  But the next several hours are important.  When he crashed after his first surgery, It happened immediately when the drains were pulled. It is caused by air getting in the chest cavity and applying so much pressure that the lungs can't inflate.  Typically, if this is going to happen it is a gradual thing that happens after several hours.  Please pray it wont happen!

Also, Garrett still has a fever (over 101).  They did blood work and his white blood cell count is way up, so something is going on.  Please pray for this to improve also.

Such a roller coaster ride!  We keep moving forward but with lots of ups and downs.

Thank you, Lord, for watching over our little buddy!

[Doc Nock]

Just after noon you posted according to Gang time.

It's now 6:15pm EDST.

Prayers are a bit behind, but praying for the crash to never have come and if it came, that it went away as fast... and that the infection is identified quickly and resolved.

I cannot imagine what it must be like, but can you even fathom where people get strength who do not have faith?

Keep the Son in your eyes...prayers abound!

[Hooked]

Like my wife I am kinda skeered to post that something is better or resolved.

No crash!  Still have to watch his lungs for fluid build up even after we go home.

Fever is not completely gone, but is low grade.  They have done some cultures from his blood to see what might be causing the fever.

He is still getting oxygen, but is down to half a liter.

He was excited to see me when I got back today!  He jumped out of his chair, ran over and started punching me in the stomach saying "eeyah, eeyah!". Too much Kung Fu panda, I think!  Nurse and wife then proceeded to chew me out for getting him riled up?!?  all I did was walk in and sit down!

I think all that is left to get him home is figuring out the fever, getting rid of the oxygen, and a day or two of observation after the chest drain removal.

[GRAYBEARD]

I'm betting those were the most enjoyable you will ever face!
Watching and praying for  the best.

[4dogs]

Another worrysome bump...He has the right spirit... all in GOD'S time    

[Doc Nock]

Let em chew...    You can handle that to have him show some enthusiasm and spunk!  

Go Garrett, Go Garrett!  I wish I could come and let him punch on me just to see this li'l miracle and give you and Suzie hugs!

Continued prayers for God's will, His Peace and Prefect Healing to be on Garret, the girls and you and Suzie!

[Hooked]

Posted by my wife this morning:

Garrett has had a great morning so far today!  They were about to draw blood again for a second round of cultures the doctors ordered.  However, our cardiovascular nurse happened to walk in just as they were about to stick him.  She asked why they were wanting more cultures and told them that it wasn't necessary.  She then went to talk to the "blue team" (the medical team) and she talked them out of it!   They did draw some blood out of his current IV to check his white blood cell count.  He still had a low grade fever last night, but his blood count results from today were down from yesterday.  That is some more great news.  We are still anxious to get the results of the cultures that were drawn yesterday.  Don't know if this all makes sense, but prayers have been answered.

They have turned off his oxygen and he does seem to be tolerating that fine.  His daily chest x-ray showed a little fluid on his lungs this a.m. so they are giving him some additional lasix to try to dry him up.  We could be here a couple more days still, but definitely headed in that direction. 

Ther other night Garrett and I had just laid down to go to sleep.  There is a curtain that I usually pull by the room door to keep the hall light out of our room.  I forgot to do it that night and Garrett said, "Mommy, close the curtain so the nurses can't come in."  Whenever the nurses walk in he asks,  "No medicine?  No pokies?" (blood draws)  He is such a brave, courageous, sweet boy.  We are so proud to be his parents.

Right now, Garrett is dancing around the room doing the "Mario brother" dance.  He was watching  a Mario movie on his dad's ipad.  

Thank you again for all of your love, support, and prayers.  There have been people all around the world praying for our little buddy.   Thank you Lord for watching over Garrett and please bless all of our friends.

[Hooked]

Garrett has done well since Suzie's post this morning.

He did throw up, but it was from gagging on a gummy bear he didn't chew good enough.

They took him completely off oxygen today and have been watching his stats closely.  His pulse ox has been hovering below where they want it, so they have mentioned possibly putting him back on it.  He was on half a liter when they took him off.

His x-ray did show some fluid in his right lung this morning, so they are watching it closely too.

Getting close!  Would be nice to be home on the fourth!

[Doc Nock]

4th, 5th...whenever Chip, we will celebrate with you. Steady as she goes, bro.

No reason to race to the barn now, and there be them gopher holes on the back 40 can bust a leg.  :(

Lord, we all thank you for Garrett's progress. We know without you, all the medicine and doctor's in the world wouldn't amount to spit.

Continue to be with our li'l tiger Garrett, his folks and his sisters! We love you Lord and what you've done in these good people's lives.

We ask you to continue to watch over Garrett and the family. Continue his healing to witness to YOUR glory, Lord! In your Son's name. Amen.

[4dogs]

 Amen.

[Hooked]

Garrett is doing very well!  Unfortunately, they did have to put him back on oxygen last night.  His pulse ox stats were just not staying high enough.  Praying they will have better luck weaning him off it today.

Yesterday's x-ray showed some new fluid on his lung.  Today's x-ray appears to be a tiny bit better.  I had the nurse show me his x-rays Friday night because I had not seen them since the x-ray that sent him back to the ICU.  The difference was awesome!  Thank you, Lord.  Last week, even the first x-ray after he had improved some in the ICU looked horrible compared to how they look now.  Last Friday his right lung was almost solid white this Friday all that white was gone.

His electrolytes and potassium levels are good.  At noon we will be at 48 hours since they started the blood cultures, so we should get a report around then on what infection he might have.  Praying there will be none.

I think the main thing keeping us at the hospital is his oxygen, but should know more when the doctors do their rounds.