Recovery days.

Things have actually worked out better than expected this time around...very unusual for us! ha!

We had surgery yesterday morning; they took Clay to the OR around 11am and he was out and in the PICU around 3pm. Dr. Draus had great news for us in consultation afterwards. It turns out, his diaphragm is still intact--no hernias anywhere! Thank goodness! The reason his x-rays look like his stomach was misplaced is because the diaphragm is a bit loose on the left side. Dr. Draus decided not to tack it down or tighten it or anything because Clay has been doing so well breathing as it is, so why mess with it, right?

Dr. Draus was able to get a really good look at his handy-work and was really pleased with how well tissue has formed around the previous patching jobs. He said that he could see liver & spleen acting as a barrier between bowel & diaphragm, so it looked like bowel would have a hard time slipping up through the diaphragm even if it wanted to. Good news!

So, the diaphragm didn't need repairing after all...and we're hoping the loose-ness of it will allow for more room for Clay to grow & another repair won't be necessary for a long, long time!

The Nissen Fundoplication was done to prevent the frequent pukies that Clay was having. The Nissen wrap is a crazy concept that I have a hard time wrapping my head around, but a picture helps:

The stomach is wrapped around the esophagus and then sewn to itself to reinforce the esophageal sphincter, the muscle that keeps food & acids from backing back up into the esophagus. From what I understand, Clay will not be able to puke at all now...which I think is both a good and bad thing. Good, because maybe we can put some weight on his scrawny-tail...Bad, because even if he has a stomach bug, he won't be able to puke and sometimes puking just makes you feel better. But, puking numerous times a day everyday IS awful and since that's the situation we were in, I think the good overrides the bad.

Dr. Draus said he had to use a good portion of his stomach to wrap around the esophagus; so it will take a while for his stomach to be able to hold large amounts of food--he will have to be on a slow drip for a while. Hopefully we can start feeds in the morning.

Other than the Nissen, Clay also had a central line placed--a more permanent IV port for meds and fluids. Eric & I requested this so we could spare him from being poked so much. He is such a hard stick and poor guy had already been poked over 10 times during this little hospital stay...and it's fishing for veins almost everytime. That's just torture! We'll have that central line pulled before we leave for home, no big deal.

Clay also had his appendix removed while in surgery; Draus said it was there and in plain sight, so he just went ahead and took it out..lol. Now we won't have to worry about appendicitis, I guess!

Today has been a pretty rough day of recovery. Clay's been awfully sore, but is being such a trooper. He only fusses when he coughs. Poor guy, it's a bad time to have a cough. He has only smiled a few times today so that's a good indicator he's feeling rough. I can't imagine after being cut open and having your innards rearranged I'd feel like smiling either! Hoping tomorrow will be much better for him.

I cannot thank you all enough, for your well wishes and love and prayers. The power of prayer and positive thoughts is an amazing thing! We are so, SO blessed. Seriously, we have the best people in our lives. I cannot imagine going through this without all the love and support we've felt...from the visits, to the meals, from the calls & messages, to the likes and shares and comments on Facebook.. They all really do mean a lot to me. I hope I can pay it forward one day. You all are the best <3

Lots of love & peace to you all, dear friends... Xoxoxoxo!