Normally,
Kirsten would post a regular update, detailing the fun things our doctors had
to say about James, and the awesome things she did to get James to the doctor,
home from the doctor, and everything in between.
Today,
it's my turn :)
Yesterday,
November 14th, James had his first dose of Synagis, a vaccine for Respiratory
Syncytial Virus (RSV), which is apparently a common ailment for cardiac babies.
He'll get this once a month 'till the end of winter, so probably through March
or April. He got this one at our pediatrician's office, and it was a very quick
visit. We were in and out in less than 15 minutes, including check-in, weigh-in,
and vaccine, which is pretty unheard of for us these days. James, however, was
absolutely P.O.d. Apparently, Synagis is a fairly thick substance, so the shot
is more likely to have an immediate sting to it than other vaccines. James
turned the cutest, and saddest, beet red, and gave us all the most disgusted
looks. I suppose I would do the same thing if I were in his place. Either way,
one more vaccine down, and we were off to see the cardiologist.
Yesterday
was an eventful day at the cardiologist. We had an EKG, they checked his BP and
O2 sats, got an echo, talked with social services, and had a long talk with the
cardiologist about . . . James’ eating habits . . .
In
case we haven’t posted this recent enough for our readers to remember, James is
off the charts in terms of weight, and not in a good way. He is now about 3 pounds, or about 30%, under weight for babies of his age, mostly
because he doesn’t eat enough, and all our docs are very concerned about his
weight going into the upcoming procedures: a cardiac catheterization toward the
end of November, the goal of this being to get a clear picture for surgery in late
December or early January. For normal-weight babies, it’s easier to recover
from these procedures; underweight babies are at a higher risk, simply because
they don’t have the fat reserves to recover, and they are generally a little
underdeveloped in other ways physiologically.
So,
to get James ready for the main events coming up, today docs are having a
conference call to discuss inserting a naso-gastric tube tomorrow or early next
week. This way, even if James doesn’t have the stamina or drive or hunger to
eat his normal 20 ounces a day, we can literally finish off his meals or give
him an extra meal or two through the tube, just like they did in the PICU and
NICU.
This could be pretty awesome. Not only will family get to
gorge themselves on food next Thursday, but we can also make sure James gets to
fall into a food coma, too! J
In some ways this also feels weird, like we’ll be “fattening the goose” for the
holidays K
Either way, I think Kirsten and I are both very much looking
forward to a happy bout of Thanksgiving Day Surprise meals, just a little on
the heavy side, so James, too, can enjoy the peacefulness of eating just a
little too much J
