Isla's prayer

Oakes had another bronch today. The attending pulmonolgist explained that day by day Oakes' progress has been minimal, but over the last 4 or 5 days the improvement has added up to be quite noticeable, and in an attempt to step things up even more they decided they would do another bronch and place surfactant in Oakes' lower right lobe today. We all have surfactant in our lungs, but there is a possibility that Oakes' lower lobe is not making it like it should so intervening and physically adding it to his lung might help it open up. Greg and I are on board to give him the kitchen sink, and are desperately hopeful that this might help move things along. It was explained to me that the saline wash seemed to open the lung a little, just enough to get the surfactant into the lobe where hopefully it will go to work! The surfactant was placed in Oakes lower lobe around noon. After being placed we didn't move him for an hour. He was on his right side and he was sitting up a bit so that they surfactant would sort of pool in the lower lobe where we wanted it. After an hour he had an X-ray to make sure everything looked OK, and they could tell that the lung had already responded to the treatment. We left him on his back and didn't suction him for 6 hours, then flipped him over in the prone position where he will stay overnight. So now we are waiting and praying that that little lobe does some more opening overnight. He will get an X-ray around 9am, but they are already planning to repeat the bronch and surfactant treatment tomorrow. They may repeat this for up to 4 days, we will just wait and see how he responds.

I have been a teary mess today. I have just been sick with concern for my little guy.

At night Greg and I always say prayers with Isla before we we tuck her in bed. We all contribute and chime in, and usually Isla runs through a little list of names, friends and family that she asks to be blessed, but tonight she had more to say. She started with, "Bless Oakesie" then, "God, bless his lung" she raised her arms over her head and got a bit more excited saying, "let it open up like a balloon so he can come home soon", then she squealed, "so we can have a PARTY!"

Isla is always listening, taking everything in, calculating everyone and everything but in the last few weeks she has had Greg and I giggling when she speaks up and shares her own sweet independent little thoughts and ideas. No giggles tonight, just smiles with tears.

Amen, Isla, what a perfect prayer.