What did you say?

In our particular journey, there aren't too many "good" surprises-- in fact, most of the surprises are bad--"surprise, your baby has CDH" and "surprise, the kidneys were up in the chest cavity" or "surprise, we had to use a larger patch because there was no diaphragm in the back"--yep--lots of surprises--but just too few good ones...but when the good ones show up--it is glorious.

"Give thanks to the Lord, who is good, whose love endures forever." Psalm 106

Our merciful Lord has let the "cup" of reflux pass us by. We had the upper GI study done today at 1:30pm--the results came back quickly and we have been told that Par doesn't have any sort of reflux issues at all. He does have a slowing of the esophageal--this is mainly from the trauma of the tubes going down his throat and him not being able to utilize the muscles--it should work itself out on its own through regular eating and swallowing. We were shocked when we heard the news--literally shocked. Rusty thought they said the results weren't in--I thought they were telling us it was really bad--but all she said when she approached us was "No reflux." I replied, "What did you say?"--and she repeated it. I was stunned. Miracle. Praise God. Please note that God has now answered every prayer from the post on Monday night--amazing.



So what does this mean? It means that Par will not have the nissen surgery for reflux and he won't need to go home on a feeding tube as long as he can eat enough calories through a bottle and breastfeeding. It also means that it is time to get serious about his eating--the nurse practitioner says that starts Thursday mornings with mandatory bottles every 3 hours, no matter what. If I am around, I can breastfeed him instead of the bottle. This could be a fast process...or it could be slow...we don't know. So for all of you out there wondering if we could be home for Christmas--we just have no idea--it is pretty much up to Par--and he REALLY likes all the attention from the nurses...so we'll just keep praying for God's timing and keep enjoying our baby.

His upper GI study was done at 1:30pm and lasted about an hour. We watched him get wheeled away in his crib--he loved going for a ride around the hospital. We took pictures for part of the way, but then they got on the elevator.



We were so excited for him and just played with him the rest of the day--very fun! He is pushing up (trying to stand) with his monkey feet--he loves to be up--either standing or sitting up--he just likes to see what is going on. He is holding his head up a good bit on his own--but you can tell when he is tired because his head will flop around. He was very lovey after his test--but they said he didn't cry a bit--Elaine was with him the entire time, so I'm not surprised--he loves her--she is so soothing and calming.





When we went back to see him after break, he was sound asleep--so we said our prayers and kissed him goodbye.




During his upper GI study, a nurse from NICU 3 wanted to introduce us to a new CDH family--their son was born about a week ago. We met John and Hope and their precious little boy, Jayden. He is doing very well--they loved that I wanted to put them on our blog to pray for them--so please add them to your prayers--they have 3 other children, so I just pray that Jayden's recovery is quick so they can get back to their family.

Ella had a good day--you should check out her blog to see her big change. We saw Tina and Josh tonight playing with their precious baby girl--we continue to pray for her progress.

We didn't talk to Jasmine today--we saw her from afar standing at the bedside. We continue to lift Jonathan up in prayer, as well as Jasmine and Chris. May the Lord be their strength during this time.

I forgot to mention that Par's PICC line was removed yesterday--so he is free from intravenous lines--yay!!!!!

Again, Rusty and I thank God for such a blessing with Par's upper GI study results--a true miracle.

Blessings to all.

Much Love,
Liz, Rusty & Par