Day 12 12/20/09

8:30 a.m.

Hank has had a busy morning, a good busy morning. He did have 3 drainage tubes from his chest, but now he has only 1. They took all the dressing off of his chest to let his incision air out. They also took him off of all his diuretic drips, and took out his catheter. They inserted a feeding tube in his nose, and will start feeding him breast milk soon. He still has a good heart beat, and the next thing is to ween him off of the oxygen tube.

12:00 p.m.

They have started feeding Hank breast milk. They will feed him 3 cc's per hour, which is not very much. 60 cc's is one ounce. If he does good after a few hours they will increase that amount and decrease his IV fluids.

7:30 p.m.

He got taken off one of his blood pressure medications and we were told that he might even get to get off his breathing tube as soon as tomorrow (we were told earlier today maybe Tuesday).... so we are keeping our fingers crossed!



Hank's big cousin Reid got to visit him today! She hasn't gotten to see him since the day he was born due to the age limit down in the Neonatal unit, but now that Hank is in the Pediatric ICU Unit (the age limit is only 14) so she got to visit him since his chest was sewn back together.
We also had Gramms, Grumps, Aunt Stevi, Noni, Aunt Jennifer and Uncle Lee visit today. Much smaller group than normal, but it was nice. We are really starting to enjoy time in Hank's room now that he is more stable and we can just be together as a family the three of us. We don't expect too many visitors tomorrow.

Another blessing we received this week was a phone call from a dear and golden friend Jan Skrehot, my childhood bestfriends mother... she called and told us that she had a connection with St. Thomas University which is literally down the street about 10 mins with traffic and that there was a three bedroom condo waiting for us that she had gotten reserved for us for until January 10th. We have been staying at the Ronald McDonald House since we have been here but you have to take your belongings out twice a day then watch it while it is out, and get your name on a list then wait to see if you are priority enough to stay. We hate that we aren't going to be down the hall from Hank, but we were almost dealing with the check in and out more than we are getting to visit with Hank so we decided to try the condo out tonight for the first time. Everyone says it will be good for us to be out of the hospital a little bit! Boy we are going to miss him tonight!

But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us "If you can?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes." Immediately the boys father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
Mark 9:22-24

Sweet Letter from an Old Friend-

Hey Sam!!

It's been a long time! We haven't really talked much but I've been keeping track of your facebook since before Hank was born! My wife and I have 3 kiddos now. I can't imagine what you and Derric have been going through with your little man Hank. One thing is for sure, your blogs show just how strong your faith in God is! That alone is a great testimony! I have so much respect for y'all and how you seem to be handling this speed bump. I described whats going on with Hank to my kids the other night. Then my 5 year old son ,Jakob, and 3 year old daughter, Gracie, decided to pray aloud for baby Hank all by themselves! That brought tears to my eyes because it showed me how strong God's love is. The power of prayer is so GREAT!! Through Christ all things are possible! God's work is every where and in everything! I just know Mr. Hank will be able to grow up to be a strong little man and share his story with others so that they too can see God's power! We are praying for y'all many times everyday! Oh and I love the name Hank! It seems fitting, a strong name for a strong boy!

Your old Friend,

Nik


-Hank's Mommy