Hello from Omaha!

Hello, all.  Things have been going very well, so I didn't want to jinx it by posting early :-)  Isaiah is on solid foods, though he is pretty much just eating lunch meat, baked dorito's, and a piece of bacon daily!  His feeds are up, his attitude has been great, and he's looking really good.  He's homesick and missing his puppy, so I had more pictures taken and sent so I could print them off.  It's too bad Percy can't come up and visit :-(

Praise be to God, things are going well.

And we're upstairs!

We finally got to make the move upstairs today.  No pictures, but it's very nice and give us a lot more room to work.  He's pretty happy and the doctors were impressed with the recovery so far.  He's running a low grade temp today, so that's being watched.  He started tube feeds today too, so we've got quite a few things moving.

And for another great news update:  Emile is doing well!  We actually got to stop by her room today and talk with her!  This is a major upgrade as she has been pretty sedated over the last few days.  Emile and Ike even went to Pet Therapy together today.

Today was a good day.

Halloween Comes Early

So we decided to put a little color in his hair again and decorate the room.  I didn't want to at first because if we move upstairs this weekend, we have to pack it all up again!  But we did it and he was pretty excited.  Things are going pretty well, though he is now "dry".  It's funny as we kept trying to get him to put off fluid for the longest time, and now we're trying to get him hydrated!  Oh well.  He's in a great mood and has rarely been in his room.  Childlife has done a wonderful job keeping him busy.  He's been downgraded and can leave the unit, so he's been taking full advantage of it.  It was good to see him more like himself today.

Making the comeback

Isaiah has been doing quite well the last couple of days.  His labs are good, he's off the oxygen, and he is up and moving around.  I sincerely hope we can start the process of recovery now.  It is frustrating for little things to keep happening, and it starts the process all over.  But he's having a really good start to the week and we're very happy!

Emile had a really rough last 24 hours.  All I can say is please keep them both in your prayers as we continue on this week.

Always something . . .

There just always has to be something.  So the last 24 hours were going "too" good.  I took this picture around noon today.  By 2pm, Isaiah started vomiting and having pain in his stomach area.  The last time this occurred, he had developed an abscess of fluid in his abdominal area.  So we'll wait until Monday probably to do new x-rays/CT to see what's happening.  We were trying to ween him from some of his pain meds and suction on his gut, but we've had to hold back and continue treatment as usual.

Isaiah's friend Emile is in real need of prayer support right now.  She is having ICP, or inter-cranial pressure, and it is at dangerous levels right now.  She is scheduled to have a drain put in on Monday but is in a lot of pain right now.  Please hold her an her parents up right now.  They really need the support.

God is Awesome - and so is Johnny Test!

So today has been totally awesome!  He is up, walking around (as far as his tubes will let him), in a great mood, and eating ice chips.  He got a hair cut, played a game, and did all his physical therapy.  It is truly amazing to see how fast the human body can respond.  He is not totally off the oxygen yet, but we think this will occur by Sunday.  Then it is recovery time and hopefully up to the 6th floor by next weekend.

We received MANY letters today from friends and family from Church and School!  Thank you very much 2nd Grade!  When Isaiah was here for his 1st transplant, he was Ang the Airbender (which is a movie coming next year I think - always a step ahead, that boy).  This year, we're Johnny Test - a new cartoon on Cartoon Network.  This is the flaming boys hair that we are now sporting:

And here's our boy:

Good times!  He'll have a little more red tomorrow.  He just got the first tinge today.

Much Better Day

We've had a very good day today.  The tube came out of his lungs, and we had a pretty tense few hours getting him breathing on his own again.  But by the end of tonight, he was talking and eating ice while watching cartoons.
We hope to have him sitting up in the chair and moving around a lot more tomorrow and hopefully walking this weekend.  We'll see.

While we've been in and out of Omaha throughout the last 3 years, we've come to know a lot of the families that have come through the program.  One of Isaiah's friend's Emile had a kidney transplant and has gone back and forth from the PICU to the Children's floor just since we've been here.  I'd ask all those praying for Isaiah, please keep her in your prayers as well.  She has a very supportive family, but every bit helps.

New pictures tomorrow!