Saturday, Nov 19th

Today was a quiet day, and we were able to spend a good amount of time with Thomas.  My favorite place to be is right at his bedside, holding his hand with one of my hands, and resting my other hand on his little chest.  I like to feel his heartbeat with my finger.  His chest is so smooth and soft....and I know it will only look like that for a few more days so I'm trying to memorize it.
Thomas is still on the ventilator, and we expect him to be until he has surgery.  He has been struggling today and yesterday with a metabolic acidosis.
Hopefully we will get to spend alot of time with him tomorrow.  We know we need to rest, sleep, and eat.....but we don't want to be anywhere except with him.

Here are some specific prayer requests that we have for Thomas:
Please pray that he would increase in strength leading up to surgery
Pray that the doctors can correct his metabolic acidosis
Pray for protection for his brain, kidneys, intestines, and liver- some of the acidosis is caused by decreased perfusion to these organs (because his heart needs to be fixed!)
Pray for wisdom for the doctors caring for Thomas
Pray that our little guy will be ready to fight as he is prepared for surgery

I have a confession.  I "showed out" (as TJ put it) in the CICU yesterday, and am probably being whispered about as the hysterical Mom in 2107.  Don't worry, I didn't stomp my feet or snap my fingers......but I am ready to fight for my boy, and everybody knows it :)

Isaiah 43:1-4
"Don't be afraid, I've redeemed you.
I've called you by name. You're mine.
When you are in over your head; I'll be there with you.
When you're in rough waters; you will not go down.
When you are between a rock and a hard place,
It won't be a dead end-
Because I am God; your personal God,
The Holy of Israel, your Savior.
I paid a huge price for you...!
That's how much you mean to me!
That's how much I love you!"

Thanks for all of your prayers!!!!!
Love,
Melissa & TJ (& Thomas!)

Friday Update

Thursday was a very busy day!
We got packed up to leave the hospital, and Thomas got transferred to Egleston just before lunch time.  We went over there to meet him, but didn't get to see him much because he was busy getting admitted- all of the doctors were seeing him, he was getting labwork, lines put in, ekg's, echocardiograms, etc.
His nurse yesterday was Amanda, and she was great! She will have Thomas throughout the weekend and we are thankful. 

Thomas is on some oxygen now and seems a little more comfortable.  His work of breathing really picked up yesterday, so I'm happy to see him resting. He is also on a medication called milrinone to help prevent pulmonary overcirculation (which will happen until his surgery)
He is jaundiced and on bili lights as well.

We are  both physically and emotionally exhausted after this entire week, so sorry for the lack of updates yesterday.  It was very overwhelming.  We are looking forward to a quiet weekend and spending as much time as we can with our boy.  He was so busy yesterday with all of the admission process that we had to leave him alone too so he could rest from all of the action.

Please continue to pray for Thomas:
That he will continue to grow and be strong for surgery
For wisdom for the doctors caring for Thomas
That they will see him as our precious baby, not as a complicated heart defect who barely weighs enough for surgery (minimum is 2kg, he is 2.2kg)
Please pray that Thomas will know how much we love him even though we can't hold him or be with him all the time.
Please pray for quick healing for me from the c-section
Please pray for TJ and me to be strong, and please pray for us to have sense of peace through all of this

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."
Matt 11:28

Love,
Melissa