Sitting in my favorite chair in my study, typing this blog entry while Theo sleeps contentedly in my lap.
Welcome home, Theo.
A View From the Schoolhouse
[Written this time by Kat…]
Good news from our corner of the world Theo is recovering very nicely from his emergency surgery last Thursday. In fact, we were happy to enjoy an uneventful and drama-free weekend. As of Monday, he was extubated, today his stomach tube was taken out, and tonight his nasal support was taken out we were almost stunned to realize that there was an actual baby underneath!
Theos doctor is going to be conservative on feeding him, etc., and predicts it will likely be 10-14 days before he goes home. He’s got a few more hurdles to clear, and the last one will be the next surgery to remove the colostomy bag and reattach the colon in 4-6 weeks, but all of this feels much more doable than it did a week ago. Were proud to say that our Renaissance boy is also contributing to science by participating in a national study on antiseptics in babies under two months of age. Thats his day job. Current hobbies include looking cute, sucking on his pacifier, and trying to make sense of faces.
Were hoping that we don’t send out many more update notes we send out because Theo will continue to do well. Wed really like to thank everyone for their thoughts, prayers, and acts of kindness. It has been a tough year, and a really tough couple of weeks, but at no point have we ever felt alone through this, and weve often felt buoyed by the love you have sent our way. Hopefully we are through the worst of it.
As many of you know, we arent particularly religious. However, I was thinking today about how Theodores name translates as gift of God. The silver lining to this whole situation has been another gift weve received — the wonderful generosity of so many of the people in our lives. For that, and for our sons continuing health, we are extremely grateful.
Best,
Kat, Chris, Jakob and Theo
Hello everyone,
As the saying goes — what a difference a day makes. Apparently, Theo’s GI surgeon was up all last night thinking about Theo (we’re actually not sure this particular doctor ever sleeps,) and he apparently had a late-night epiphany. He decided that Theo needed a barium enema (I’m reasonably sure that Theo is rapidly getting sick of enemas) to get a better picture of what was going on in Theo’s colon. They found a leak in his colon — which should explain all of the post-op problems he’s been having — and rushed him into surgery to correct it. They performed an ostomy on him, cleaned out the gunk (I swear that is the term the doctor used) that had leaked, and set him up with a colostomy bag so that the rest of the colon can heal. We’re hoping that this, along with a continued massive antibiotic program, puts him back on the right road. He’ll have the colostomy bag for four to six weeks so that the colon can heal with a much lower risk of infection, and then, with a little luck, he’ll be ready for another surgery to hook his colon back up. Believe it or not, if his condition improves, Theo would be able to come home with us with the colostomy bag, so we’re back to hoping we get to take him home in a few weeks. I don’t think we’re out of the woods yet, but we feel a lot better than we did yesterday. He’ll be on the ventilator for a few days, and then it’ll be a few more days until they try to start feeding him — I think, given the problems he had last time, they are going to take their time with those milestones this time around, but the doctors all seem to think that he should really improve now.
In other news, Kat did receive a steroid injection on her back today, and while she therefore can’t run in the Olympics or play Major League Baseball, we are hoping it makes her back a ton better.
Thanks to everyone for your concern, thoughts and prayers. When he’s old enough to understand, I’m going to show Theo all of the emails so that he can see how much care there was for him when he was only a few weeks old. He’s a very lucky and very loved little boy. Thank you.
Love,
Chris, Kat, Theo and Jakob