Tube Free!

Zachy is on the mend!  Yesterday he had the last of his chest tubes, pacer wires, and central line removed.  He came off the monitors (except for spot checks) and is otherwise free to roam the fifth floor!  Right now he's napping through a discharge echo and will also have a final chest x-ray.  If all goes well, we will be discharged this afternoon, and hope to head HOME tomorrow.
I know, I know... lots of pictures of the same thing.  But I can't get over watching Zachy get back to his normal self... just five days after major open-heart surgery!

Since becoming "unhoooked" yesterday, Zachy insists on walking the halls.  Here he is waiting to go down for his echocardiogram.  He's a tough boy.

Comments

  1. Jenny LincolnJuly 6, 2010 at 7:41 AM

    WOW! What an amazing recovery! I'm so happy for Zachy and your family that things have gone so well. Zach is truly an inspiration. He gives me hope that Aly's Fontan could go as well! :) :)
    Fingers crossed for a discharge today!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. The mom of 4 monkeys!July 6, 2010 at 8:27 AM

    YAY, YAY, YAY!!!! Fantastic news! Thank you God! Now I will add a "safe trip home" to my prayers!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Carolina CartersJuly 6, 2010 at 8:32 PM

    Wow! How amazing! Zachy is such a trooper, and such an inspiration! Praying you all are out of there right now and heading home tomorrow.

    I love, love, love that last picture! :)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Did You Know?... Samuel

Image
Zachary isn't our only baby who has been intrigued with our corner cupboard.  Many of you commented about messes similar to this that your little ones have made with pantry contents: And FYI... that wasn't flour scattered all over the floor, but cornstarch!  Have you ever tried to clean spilled cornstarch?  It's not an easy job.  But back to our story... Every child of mine has gotten into this corner cupboard.  What about baby locks? you ask.  Well, it has one.  But it doesn't catch well and the boys have always been able to pry it open, anyway.  And I usually let them.  The unorganized contents of this cupboard provide for some fairly safe and lengthy entertainment, and it usually doesn't take me long to shove everything back in once the baby gets bored.  But there are some exceptions, and one day when Sammy was just shy of a year old...  Did you know... that he got into the cooking wine?! Once again I must thank my talented mothe...
Read more

Thankful for Trouble

Image
These days, Zachary is without a doubt full of trouble!  He served his first couple of time-outs this week for smacking his older brother.  He arches his back and screams until he is blue in the face when he doesn't get his way.  He still crawls up and stands on our kitchen table and countertops, and when he is sternly corrected, he reaches to hug me and says in his sweetest, buttering-up little voice, "Mama, Mama..."  He doesn't seem to learn, after flipping and falling backwards off chairs, that they're not to be danced on.  He begs to play outside with the big boys while they ride bikes up and down the sidewalk.  And he didn't care too much when one neighbor boy accidentally ran him over.  He hops in his little Cozy Coupe, pushes off, and heads straight down the driveway towards the street.  My own heart skips a beat as I scream and run after him, just as he reaches the curb.  He won't sit patiently in the shopping cart, but stands up a...
Read more

Home Sweet Home

Image
Zachary is home again, our family is reunited, and we are loving it!  Actually, I'm already getting fed up with Sammy's whining, with the bigger boys' fighting, with the mess... but it's WONDERFUL to be dealing with normal things again. Zachary is still in some pain on and off, usually as his pain meds are wearing off.  He is not quite himself; we don't see as many smiles yet and he is very clingy.  But he will get there!  Zachary is taking Tylenol and Motrin for pain, with an occasional dose of oxycodone.  He is back on diuretics (Lasix and Aldactone) to keep fluid from building around his lungs and throughout his body, easing the workload on his heart.  Over the course of the next year he will wean off his diuretics.  The only other med he is taking is aspirin, which thins the blood to prevent clotting.  He will take aspirin for the rest of his life. Zachy is very fearful and suspicious of strangers, especially young, pretty girls, who look like...
Read more