Journey to China

This blog documents the Spitlers' progress towards the adoption of Xia Ping He (Noah Spitler) from the PR China. It also documents Noah's medical process in pursuit of a total repair to his CHD (congenital heart defect).

Friday, July 22, 2011

Some steps fwd, Some steps back

Hi Everyone,

Sorry for the delay in postings. I'll try to catch you up- it's been busy out here in Palo Alto.

Noah had a "roller coaster day" Thursday. On the good side, the last chest drain tube was removed, which makes him more mobile and reduces pain when he moves around. The bad news is that he has a small bit of infection now (Fri) from that exit and so he's got some pain and fever. One of the surgeons who fixed his heart (Dr. Sebastian) came by to check on Noah this morning, and he took out a stitch needed after the chest tube. That caused some pain, but Noah was incredibly brave. (I had to "sit that one out"; too many childhood memories of stitch removals!)

Yesterday's good news is that Noah and I took a walk yesterday. It was his first time out of bed and on his feet since Tuesday before the surgery. He did very well; wobbly at first, then we walked all the way down the hall and back. By the end, he was walking so fast the nurse could barely keep up the "entourage" of tanks and IVs. He rested in a chair for 3 hours (!) after that - a very good thing for his lungs.

Unfortunately, his regularity has not returned and with no success after the walk, he returned to bed and started eating some jello and tomato soup. After several complaints that his stomach hurt, he decided to empty it (unannounced). Nice. That was quickly followed by "I'd like my pizza, now!" (yeah, right). Later that night he emptied his stomach again, so they put him back on an IV of fluids.

This morning he is sipping water and slowly eating bits of cracker and seems really tired (very little sleep last night). They moved an IV (again) that was in his right arm, then had to draw blood to check his labs; so as you can guess, he feels like a pin cushion by now...a bit apprehensive.

His lungs are doing VERY well, apparently. The x-rays look better and his coughs and bubble-blowing (soap bubbles) are much stronger today. The doctors are very happy about the way his lungs sound, but are a bit concerned about his regularity and slight infection from the chest tube. So, please pray that all the meds he taking for regularity (think prunes) will help. Until then, he'll remain here in the ICU. We'll try another walk down the hall this morning.

Thanks for your prayers - they are working and Robin and I can tell you are also praying for us!
God is Good; even on the roller coaster days...

Adam (& Robin)

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Praise the Lord for the progress with his lungs!! We will pray to remove the infection and pray for his regularity. That in itself will make you feel bad. Try some mandarin oranges and see if that helps. Our family has all of you in our constant thoughts and prayers - the Hendrix family

July 22, 2011 at 2:41 PM  
Anonymous Kim & family said...

So glad his lungs are improving! We will pray for his digestive system!!Love to you all!

July 22, 2011 at 6:20 PM  

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