Wonderful Ending

A wonderful ending to a good day. We spent a long time with him tonight while he was awake. Weighed him again (about the same). Got him to open his eyes (a crack!) Rejoiced at the good bladder function so far. Discussed that wonderful new-baby smell (when they're clean :) Good night, fella. See ya in the morning.

Together for the First Time

This was Jen's first time to really spend time with Paton. It was sweet enjoyment to be all together. I wish Hannah, David, and Charis could be here. This afternoon he'll have his first cath, and tomorrow his first bottle feeding. Jen said something like, "Seeing him makes all the difficulties seem insignificant."

Out of Surgery

Paton had surgery this morning to close up his back. We praise the Lord and thank you all for your prayers and comments. They really mean a lot to us. Everything went well, and he is resting in recovery. The plastic surgeons did not have to get involved, and they were able to use the skin to cover everything up. They are going to keep an eye on him for infection. At this point, he goes back to NICU for a while. The next big thing they'll watch for is the build-up of cerebrospinal fluid on the brain (called hydrocephalus). 80-90% of spina bifida kids develop hydrocephalus, usually after the spine is closed up. If that happens, they'll do another surgery to implant a shunt in his head which will allow the fluid to drain through a small tube inserted under his skin. The tube will end in his abdominal cavity, where the fluid will be absorbed by the body. So, we wait and see. I guess a lot of his life will be waiting to see. Isn't that true for all of us? Wait on the Lord.

Paton John

Paton's New Digs

Here you can get a better idea of the clubbing of the left leg. They will do casting and bracing over time to correct these things as much as they can.

First Contact - What Joy!

Hurry up and Wait

More waiting. I'm sitting here right now in the NICU next to my handsome sleeping boy. He's had a rough morning. First the neonatologists, then the plastic surgeons, then the nurses -- all "messing with him." And he hasn't even had surgery yet! We're waiting for anesthesiology to get here. They said last night that they'd probably be prepping him around 6:45, but it's now 8. O, well. Paton seems comfortable right now. I see his little chest moving gently with every breath. His little legs are tucked up under him and he looks pretty cozy. I may post a few more pictures here in a bit, if I can figure it out. Then I'll give an update after surgery. We had problems with the wireless network here (they gave us the wrong access code), and then our internet filter was keeping us off the system. But I think we're all set now.