Good Days and Better Days

Noah




People often tell me that they have good days and bad days. I always correct them and tell them that there are only good days and better days. I guess that is the optimist in me.




Mari was discharged from the hospital today and got to enjoy the outside world for the first time in over 10 weeks. Only the strongest woman can hang like Mari has. We finally did one of our favorite things tonight - eat dinner outside. We made the very short trip down to Rice Village and grabbed a bite to eat - anything that is not hospital food does the trick - and enjoyed a beautiful evening dining al fresco.

In the NICU, today was a good day. They are now putting the isolette on "manual mode", meaning that Cohen has to maintain his own body temperature. The isolette will only heat up if his temp falls below a certain point. If he is able to do this, he will be transferred to a crib. He is now only on breast milk and has no more IV fluids.

Finn & Auntie C

Both Finn and Sophia are breathing much better and getting stronger every day. Sophia's bilirubin levels are dropping with the UV therapy (Noah's are as well) and the nurses predict she will get off her CPAP very soon. They also think Finn will be ready to go CPAP-less soon.

Sophia & Family

Our biggest concern today has been Noah. Because the Goerlich boys tend to mess up their IVs, they put in a central line today. When they did the Xrays this afternoon to check the placement of the central line, they noticed that the folds in his intestines are dilated. Remember, he has not been able to eat yet. They did another set of Xrays to get a 2nd look and both the radiologist and the pediatric surgeons think Noah has an obstruction or stricture in his intestines not allowing him to eat. They plan to do a barium enema followed by Xray tomorrow to get a better look at what's going on. The surgical resident said she is 98% certain they will do surgery on Tuesday or Wednesday to correct the problem. Obviously, we are concerned and scared about our little one having surgery already. Mari is really having a hard time with this situation and is just totally stressed, understandably. Please rally in prayer around Noah and Mari over the next several days to lift them up and give them strength to persevere.

Noah

Auntie C noticed today that the babies have my ears - mine are the same size as theirs!!