The good report is that when the doctors turned down the pacemaker, Braden's heart paced on it's own at a better rate than it did on Wednesday. So this is good...but the doctor also reminded us he felt that there was a possibility (his opinion) that a permanent pacemaker may be needed. Thanks a lot Dr. "glass half empty"! Jenni and I are trying to rely on God's prognosis and allow Him to do what He wants, in His timing. (At the time though, this was like a punch in the gut!)
The other bump of the day happened as Braden was receiving milk through a feeding tube. The nurse noticed that there was a cloudy substance coming from one of Braden's chest tubes. After consulting with the doctors they concluded that it was a condition with Braden's lymph nodes. I can't remember the exact medical term, but basically the nodes are very fragile and through the process of surgery they can become damaged easily. As the milk was introduced to Braden's stomach these nodes were unable to process the fat content. So the fat was released to the body and they pooled in an area around the lungs. With Braden's tube in place, the fluid then was able to drain out. This isn't an uncommon side effect with this type of surgery. But it must be dealt with. So, for the time being, no more milk for Braden, he is now receiving another type of nutrition through his feeding tube, something his lymph nodes can handle. These nodes must have time to heal, and if they don't heal on their own, surgery can be needed.
So our request to you, our faithful friends and prayer partners:
- Please pray that Braden's heart will be strong and pump with the right timing and volume so that a permanent pacemaker won't be needed. (And maybe Dr. "glass half empty" will have a change of perspective.)
- Please pray that Braden's lymph nodes will heal and no surgery needed. And that he will be able to have milk again ASAP.
We love and appreciate you all! Thank you for continuing to stand in faith with us for our son Braden!
Darth & Jenni
4 comments:
I love you, mi amiga! May the Lord bless you and keep you and make HIS face to shine upon you and be gracious to you and give you peace (dumping down like all these unusual amounts of snow on the NW right now). I love you all, and I'm praying for you all, and I'm believing with you for the 1,000,000% FULL GLASS! Braden is going to come ALL the way thru, and so will you all . . . Love "Big" Kara
So glad to hear that Braden is doing well! Stay positive! He's a tough little guy, all these heart babies are.
The term for the condition you described is Chylothorax. Thought I'd pass that along so you can google it and get more info. It's common in heart surgery and kids usually recover fine eating a fat free diet/special formula for a while while the lymph nodes heal.
Stay strong
Wendy (Heart mom to Christopher, CoA, VSD, ASD, BAV)
Sorry to hear about the bumps along the way. We're still praying. :)
Hey Guys- I just wanted to let you know we are praying for you and with you. We will check the blog regularly to know how to pray. Be Blessed - Justin and Tami.
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