Last Monday

SO, last Monday went really well! I’m sure many of you know all this by now, especially if you’re on facebook. We got there at 2pm and actually got to back into the O.R. a little early, that’s always a good thing! By 4:00 the doctor was done and came to talk to us (we weren’t even scheduled to start until 4:15). The first thing he said was “I like Mexico. Mexico was good for Levi.” Things looked so much better, good enough to start ‘capping’ the trache and downsizing from a size 4.0 to a 2.5! We started out with a 2.5 when he was two pounds! We ended up staying overnight to make sure that Levi could breathe with his trache capped(it’s literally a little cap that goes over the opening of the trache tube so that it’s not being used but still available in case he needs it). Unfortunately Levi took a really long time to wake up and even longer to settle down. He. Was. Furious. I think that the latter in the day the procedure is, the worse he does waking up. He’s gone all day with no food, no nap and it’s just not a pretty picture. We needed him calm before he could have the cap. They moved us upstairs to a room and by this time it was after 6. I started asking for the cap a little after that and no one knew what I was talking about :S That was frustrating! Finally they realized that that was the whole point of us staying over night, it was so that they could monitor his breathing while capped… at around 10:30 pm they realized that they could get a cap because they were locked away at the clinic. They ended up using a passy murry valve instead (it goes in the opening of the trache and lets you breathe in but closes so that you breathe out through your mouth or nose, it’s used to speak). Levi didn’t get much sleep and I didn’t get any at all, but we had to stay all day the next day to make sure that he was okay with the cap. He did great and has been using it ever since! He loves it, to say the least… he is talking non-stop and is constantly making sound effects for everything he does, it’s pretty amazing! Several people of commented on how much clearer he sounds and how easy it is to understand him. The funny thing is that I don’t notice that as much. But he definitely is louder! When we finally made it home after being at the hospital so long, Levi grabbed Jesse’s face and said “Jesse… Shut up…” We have NEVER told them to shut up before! Now, those of you who know Jesse, know just how much he talks… really it is non-stop and Levi believes it’s his turn now! They got a CD for Christmas from an aunt and uncle and he is singing the songs at the top of his lungs, it’s amazing…
We will be going back to Vanderbilt in three weeks. The Doctor will check his airway again, if things still look good the trache will come out… Wow… I can’t believe this is happening! Thank you Lord for bringing us this far, and thank you all for your prayers!