Day 2

R continues to be stable today, however the doctors are concerned about the amount of fluid that he is retaining. They commented that his kidneys are not functioning at a high enough level because some of the fluid is leaving the bloodstream and being absorbed into surrounding tissue. They have increased a medicine to help his body reabsorb the fluid from his tissues into his blood stream and allow the kidneys to do their job. R went through the same issues with his kidneys on previous surgeries he has had. If the medicines fail to do this, he may start to receive dialysis. Also, the doctors will leave him on the venilator as there was some fluid on his lungs. As soon as his lungs clear, they may attempt to take him off of the ventilator.

There are some remarkable things that are occurring already. His skin is losing the yellowish tint and turning a lovely pink/tan. And the most joyous moment of the day was when I was reading to him and he began to move about, fluttered his eyes open and they were bright and white! If you have seen previous pictures of him, you may have noticed that the whites of his eyes had turned yellow from the advanced liver disease. The doctors told us today that his new liver is doing its job! I was so excited and just commented how beautiful he is and how well he is doing and I felt him squeeze my finger in his little hand. He then closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

The kids came up today to get their first peek at R. They seemed to be a little nervous at first, but then started to move closer, ask questions, and talk to him. We are so proud of how our children are sacrificing some of their summer time with us and are loving R as their sibling. God has surely prepared their hearts as He has ours.

Thank you for your continued prayers. We are taking things one day at a time. Your comments are an encouragement to us. Blessings!