Sponge Bob: Round 2

Things with Eli continue to head in the right direction!  Over the past 24 hours we have had several doctors walk in and say: "Wow, look how much better he looks!" He's still retaining a lot of fluid but he's much less puffy than he was a few days ago.  When we first got down to the PICU I hoped it would only be a few days or maybe a week until we could move back upstairs but now I'm telling myself to be patient and if it takes a few more weeks then that's what his little body needs.  We're allowing him to take tiny baby steps because after all, he's a baby.  Since my last post on Sunday, we've continued to come down on the settings on the oscillator and hopefully in the next few days we can make the switch to a more traditional ventilator.  The main setting on the oscillator that we're focusing on right now is called the Mean Airway Pressure which is the amount of pressure Eli needs to keep his lungs open.  It has been as high as 34 since we've been down here (we were told that a lot of pressure for an adult is 40 so 34 is quite a bit for a baby) and we are currently down to 24 so he's doing great!  As soon as we get the pressure down around 20 then they will consider switching over to a ventilator.  I'm sure it will be several more days before that happens but we are just fine with that.  We've seen and heard about too many kids down here that get weaned too quickly and have to go back on so we're happy to take it very slowly and allow Eli's lungs more time to heal.

Today is Eli's fifth full day on dialysis and his circuit needed to be changed so they took him off for a few hours while they did that to see how he reacted.  There was the tiniest bit of hope in everyone that he would start producing urine on his own when they took him off but we were told not to expect it that fast.  Had his kidneys started working on their own, they probably would have left him off for awhile but he didn't produce anything so they put him back on a couple hours later.  The circuit needs to be changed again in 72 hours so we will reevaluate on Friday evening.  During that time, they will continue trying to pull off more fluid.

For those of you that don't know, my favorite thing in the world is to dress my little boy up!  I often felt like he was a doll rather than my baby but he tolerated me well :) When we were up in ICS I would put a new outfit (including shoes!) on him every single day.  Just because we live in a hospital doesn't mean he shouldn't be stylin', right?!  Down in the ICU it's not really an option for me to dress him but I've been doing as much as I possibly can which is this: 

Notice the socks and single shoe :) I'm sure he'll appreciate that when he's older!

Eli also continues to make a lot of progress with his engrafting/counts.  His WBC/ANC is constantly fluctuating but this morning he had an ANC of 4,500--his highest yet!  Keep on growing, little cells!

I was reading a friend's blog today and came across a quote from President Uchtdorf that I loved:

"We shouldn't wait to be happy until we reach some future point, only to discover that happiness was already available--all the time! Life is not meant to be appreciated only in retrospect...there is something in each day to embrace and cherish.  There is something in each day that can bring gratitude and joy if only we will see and appreciate it."

This can be applied to everybody, no matter their circumstances, but of course I feel like it's perfect for what our little family is going through right now.  There are many things about our situation that aren't desirable but there are also many things I am so grateful for every single day and this quote is a great reminder to continue to recognize those blessings.  (Even though I didn't ask to steal it, thank you, Rachel, for sharing!)

Fight on, little Eli!