The Amazing Uncle Derek

Today we sadly had to say goodbye to Uncle Derek.  His original plan was to come out and help us for a week.  But as things progressed and Garrett wasn't getting better, Derek changed his plans so he could be here for an additional week and a half.  We seriously owe him for the rest of our lives - I don't know how we could have made it through the past two and a half weeks without him!!!  He has been so amazing with Tori - I have a feeling that these two are going to always have a really special relationship! 

Not only did Derek take care of all the normal day-to-day things so Jared and I could be at the hospital with Garrett, but he also started Tori on potty training!  He even got her to go pee and poop on the potty for the first time - amazing!!!  All of the nurses said he definitely gets the "Best Uncle Ever" award!

Uncle Derek, or "Dersh," as Tori calls him, spent lots of time helping Tori improve her dance repertoire!  The first addition was spinning!

Yep, Tori has a sweet spin move now!!!

And then they worked on the splits!

Thanks to Uncle Dersh- we now have a fabulous dancer on our hands!!!

I love hearing Tori's laugh when she is playing with Derek...

she absolutely adores him!!!

Thank you a million times over Derek - you were one of our miracles!!!

Another 1 (or 2, or 3, or 4) Bite(s) the Dust

Garrett's PICU doctor, Dr. Raj has not been messing around.  Today Garrett had his PICC line taken out,  finished his sedation medications, finished his last course of antibiotics, and came of oxygen all together!  So far he is doing great!!!  I love that even though we are back in the PICU, they are still doing everything they can to get Garrett well and ready to go home- no wasting time around here!!!
We really only have one more thing for him to tackle before going home - making sure he is eating well!!!

Two Steps Forward and One Step Back

The past few days Garrett has been doing so well!  He has been eating great from a bottle, they have been cutting back on all his medications, and his breathing treatments and CPT (percussions) have been getting more and more spread out!  Today was the day to try and finally get him off the oxygen.  The first try was this morning at about 8:00.  Garrett's oxygen levels dropped enough that the RT wasn't comfortable leaving him off and so she turned it back on to a teeny tiny whiff.  The next try was around noon.  He did great for about an hour and then all of the sudden his SATs really started to drop and he just couldn't keep his oxygen levels up anymore.  So, Garrett was very quickly moved back into the PICU.
I know the peds nurses are good, but our PICU nurses are awesome.  They got things under control so quickly.  Garrett is now back on vapo therm - he just needs a little more help breathing than normal oxygen.  When we got back to the PICU, Garrett was so cold.  The nurses got him all bundled up and warm in no time.  His nurse Karen said that was his body's way of clamping down. Since he was in pretty bad shape they put the feeding tube back in - they want to give him a break and let him recover before he has to work to eat again.  So, no more bottle feedings for a bit.  I must admit this move was so very disappointing since on Sunday they were thinking we might be going home tonight.  But at least we know that Garrett is getting the care he needs and that eventually he will get over this and be able to come home!  His RT said to keep the big picture in mind - that Garrett has taken two steps forward and only one back. 

Right as all of this was going on we were told that Santa had come to visit with the kids and have pictures taken with them.  Since Garrett was in isolation, and we were going to be moving soon, we couldn't see how a picture was even possible.  But our nurse suggested we take the picture as we were changing rooms - it worked out perfectly.  Here is Santa outside Garrett's room waiting to meet him!

And here is Garrett's first picture with Santa!!!

Our little guy all snug as a bug in a rug back in the PICU!

We're a Movin'

Today we got some news we have been waiting for since we got here - Garrett was moving from the PICU to the regular Pediatric unit!  This was literally half way to the door home for us.  Garrett started out in the PICU in room 13 and is now in the Peds unit in room 6.  While we have loved, and will seriously miss, the care that Garrett has received from our amazing PICU nurses and doctors, we are really excited about this move.  This is one of Garrett's major steps to get back home with us!!! 

This is Garrett's new room- Peds #6!

Garrett was able to finally wear clothes again today - he looks so handsome in his Christmas pjs!!!

And we are on the move!

Garrett's last few moments in his really big hospital bed!

And here he is in his new (and much smaller) bed- he looks so great!!!

Garrett has a few more things he needs to conquer before we can head home.  First, he needs to get off of oxygen and be okay breathing on his own.  Second, he needs to finish his final course of antibiotics.  Third, he has to get off of his last two sedation medications.  Forth, we need to get his PICC line out.  And fifth, he needs to improve on his feedings.  His new doctor on the Peds unit said that if all keeps going well, we could be home as early as Tuesday - here's hoping!   

Finally- A Good Saturday!

Considering how our last two Saturdays have gone, we were a little worried about what today would bring.  But today turned out to be just awesome!  For starters, Garrett was finally able to start oral feeding again!  It has been over two weeks since he was able to eat by himself.  Since it had been so long, we were prepped that he might not do so hot- he may have to literally relearn how to suck.  But our little guy did fabulous right from the start!!!
This afternoon, Derek and Tori were able to go the Indianapolis zoo!  I'm so glad that Derek was able to get out of our house for a bit.  He has been such a trooper, just staying at our house everyday so Tori doesn't have to leave her own environment.  They had a fabulous time and apparently Tori has our zoo memorized.  Derek said that before they would get to the next area, Tori would start talking about what was coming up.  Sadly, I forgot to take a picture at the zoo when I went to pick them up :(
After the zoo came my favorite part of the day- Derek and Tori were able to come up to the hospital to visit Garrett!  When we got to the hospital, I told Tori we were going to see Garrett and she said, "baby brother" for the very first time! We have been asked several times if Tori has missed Garrett, and up until today she really hasn't shown that she has.  But when she said that, I knew she had missed him and she knows he is part of our family now!
While Garrett and Uncle Derek's first meeting wasn't in the circumstances we would have liked, it was very sweet nonetheless!

As a side note- Tori loved Uncle Derek's "pretty dress!"
Tori had a great time eating her lunch...

and dancing around in Garrett's room!

I absolutely loved that she kept asking me to pick her up so she could see her "baby brother!"

I am so glad it worked out that Uncle Derek got to feed Garrett a bottle! (Jared hasn't even had that chance yet!)

Hurrah for a wonderful Saturday full of sweet and tender moments!!!

Just in Case

Just in case you want to follow our every move and see tons of really cute pictures, I have finally finished a bunch of blogs from November.  Just scroll down past all the hospital stuff for more of our adventures!!!  Of note- Garrett's baby blessing, Thanksgiving, and our visit from Jared's family- lots of great stuff!!!

Nicknames

When Tori was born she started getting nicknames right off the bat.  Most of them were acquired on her  first visit to Texas.  Notable entries were Torsinator, Tori Bear, Miss, Mae, etc. So when Garrett was born we were just waiting for his collection to come along.  I think my first favorite was when Aunt Meesha called him Mr. Tiny-Pants!  And then we had G Man and Little Man from Daddy.  And now that Garrett has been in the hospital for so long, he has quite a list of nicknames from the nurses and RTs!  Here are his nicknames thus far - Mr. Garrett (so official), Babes, Booger, Bubs, Bubbers, and Bubby.  I love that these ladies love our boy too - they are seriously amazing and take awesome care of our family!!!

No more aching arms!

Ever since Garrett was intubated we have not been able to hold him. I have to admit that my arms have been aching to hold our baby boy for the past 12 days. For the past day or two his labs have been looking pretty good, and this morning they looked great!  It was finally time for him to be extubated!

Here is Garrett's last photo with his breathing tube!

Brandi and Lori getting all ready for the big event!

And it's out - hurrah!!!

Here is our cute boy on vapo therm (basically oxygen that is heated and moisturized)!

Ahhhh, feels so good to have that out!

I love that the nurses use all of his stuffed animals to prop him up!

Our little burrito baby!!!

Today was such a fantastic day! I am so happy to report that we can hold Garrett again- no more aching arms here!!!

Trimming the Tree

We had planned on decorating our Christmas tree on December 1st - and then Garrett was admitted into the hospital that same evening.  Needless to say, the tree had to wait.  At first we were going to wait until Garrett was home to do any of our Christmas stuff.  It really didn't feel like Christmas at all without him here.  However, the longer he has been in the hospital, the more we have realized that at least for Tori's sake we still need to go ahead and do our Christmas things!

So tonight Jared and I were both at home with Tori, Derek, and Prince.  We all put on our Christmas jammies and we trimmed our beautiful Christmas tree! 

Tori had a ball, as did the rest of us!

Picking just the right spot is super important!

Tori had so much fun helping get the next ornament...

and then she would hand it off to one of us...

so we could put it on the tree - our tree is a bit pokey!!!

I don't know why but Tori was doing this most of the night (I am attributing it to her runny nose!)!

Even Prince got in on the Christmas tree decorating action!

Yeah for a fun partial-family photo!!!

Even though it would have been so much better if we all had been home together, it was still a wonderful night!  It helped bring the Christmas spirit back into our home and our hearts!!! (Thanks for taking such awesome pictures Derek - they are so fun!!!)

Saturdays Don't Like Us

Since Garrett has been in the hospital, Saturdays have not been our friend.  Last Saturday Garrett was intubated and got his PICC line.  It was one of the low points of us being here.  But throughout the week he has been getting better little by little everyday.  Then came a really rough night last night.  They have been watching Garrett's hemoglobin levels and this morning they were really low.  So the next course of action was for Garrett to get a blood transfusion.  They also put Garrett on a paralytic which would knock him out completely so that the vent (breathing tube) could help him more and he wouldn't fight it so much.  Because he is now basically paralyzed, they also had to put in a catheter. Once again it felt like our world was falling apart. But once again, as soon as he received his transfusion, he looked so much better.  Definitely not what we were hoping for, but I think it is what his body needs at this time to help him get better!  Garrett has an awesome vein on the side of his head - so that is where they added the IV for his transfusion.

Look at all this stuff on his bed. And if you squint just right you might see Garrett in the middle of it!

Garrett getting his transfusion.

I don't think our boy has room for anything else to be hooked to him!

I know it's a little thing, but I love it when he holds our fingers. He still is in there!

This evening Garrett got his first "bath" since he has been in the hospital.  I am so glad that his nurse let us help out- it was the bright spot of our day!

Shortly after Garrett's bath, the doctor came in to let us know that they found a secondary infection and they are going to start antibiotics.  He will be on Vancomycin for the next 10 to 14 days - again, not what we wanted.  I think we are learning that with RSV it is all about baby steps - that little by little Garrett is going to get over this virus.  Sometimes it is just hard waiting for those steps to come.