~Optimism and a Miracle~

When Eli was admitted to the ICU 3 weeks ago, Logan and I (of course) had a lot of hope that everything would be just fine and that this was just another bump in the road.  What parent wouldn't think that way, right?  We knew he was sick and had some things to overcome but I don't think we realized how sick he has truly been.  We constantly heard the doctors and nurses talking about what serious condition he has been in and how many hurdles he has to clear before he's out of the woods but I still never doubted that he would make it through this.  I still have complete faith that Eli is going to have a complete healing and grow up to be a strong little boy but I have a much greater appreciation the past few days for what a miracle our fighter is.

During rounds the past two mornings Eli's doctors have been very open about how pleased they are with his progress.  They can't stop raving about how much better he is doing and how hard he is fighting to get healthy.  This is music to mine and Logan's ears because we haven't had their confidence that he would get better at all since we've been down here. We all know there is still a long road to travel before we are even discharged from the ICU but every day brings a little progress and healing to Eli's tiny body.  He's taking baby steps but we're just fine with that considering he's a baby!

Eli was trialed off dialysis yesterday around 3:30pm.  They wanted to give him anywhere from 12-24 hours to keep his labs normal and to produce some urine.  His potassium and a few other things they watch closely went up pretty fast and he still hasn't urinated at all so he will go back on around 4:00 this afternoon.  I can't deny I was a little discouraged this morning when I knew he would have to go back on because I was hoping this would be the day he'd be able to finish for good but all of his doctors said they would have been shocked if he was able to stay off after the first trial off.  In the words of one of his doctors, she would have been: "Jumping up and down!" if he had gone pee already.  They told us not to expect him to be done until after the fourth or fifth trial off so probably a few more weeks at least.  We were reminded multiple times this morning that although Eli's renal function is far from where we'd like it, his respiratory status is improving a ton.  As long as his doctors are encouraged with the way things are going, then so are we!

This morning our nurse found out that we haven't held Eli since we came down to the PICU and she couldn't believe it.  She was like: "Wait, you haven't held him at all?!" I told her that I just figured we couldn't while he was intubated.  Next thing you know, here we are holding our sweetheart for the first time in three weeks!

Lovin' his daddy time!

I can't tell you what a wonderful feeling this was!  I could have sat in that chair all day just staring at him.  It felt so wonderful having him in my arms again.  Since he went off dialysis yesterday, he's already over 500ml of fluid positive and you can tell a ton of it went right to his face!  The poor little dude is all chunked out again.  Luckily they'll be able to get that off in a couple days with the dialysis.

A few days ago, Eli's cousin, Lily, came to visit and brought him the best present ever!  That little girl already knows how to please her cousin and her cousin's mamma!

How adorable are they?!

Lily went with her mom and dad to the converse outlet while they were visiting Minnesota a couple weeks ago and brought back this studly pair of Chuck Taylors for Eli.  They're a bit big right now but as soon as he's home and healthy he'll be wearing them all the time!  Thank you, Uncle Blake, Aunt Staci and Lily!

**About a month ago, Logan and I had the opportunity to be interviewed by KSL for part of the annual Primary Children's Hospital telethon.  They are doing a small piece on our experience here in the hospital with Eli.  We had a great time doing the interview and are so grateful we had the chance to be a part of it.  It's still a ways away, but keep June 1st in the back of your mind because that's when it will air.  I will post more details later on as I find them out myself.**