Carter had a hard time getting settled in last night. Who knows if it’s pain or the increase in anti-rejection drugs?! Needless to say, after hearing him grunting and crying telling me his tummy was hurting for 90 minutes, I asked the nurse for some pain meds. Matt and I have been trying to not rely on them too much since the doctors told us they slow down the intestinal and liver functioning process. But we also can’t see him in pain. Carter finally went to sleep and had a pretty good night.
Dad arrived this morning with donuts. Carter was so excited, although he ate very little. His appetite wasn’t great today. Matt even brought chicken, pita and hummus yesterday and Carter didn’t eat a lot of it. Hopefully, he’s not experiencing any pain from eating. Tonight after eating dinner (which was very little), he was grunting again and Matt thought he was going to throw up. Luckily, he went to sleep soon after. We’ll have to explore this with the doctors a little more tomorrow.
The good news for today was that Carter’s two liver levels we are watching closely went down about 40%! They still need to go down further to get in the normal range, but this was a relief. Also, his white blood cell count was down slightly too. So, hopefully there isn’t an infection going on after all. He was even more anemic today, so he had a blood transfusion late this afternoon. Hopefully, this will decrease his heart rate back into a normal range as well. I think this is why the doctors told us our stay in the hospital post-transplant can be long. There are a lot of ups and downs, and adjusting medications, etc. Our goal over the next couple days is to get Carter out of bed more, and see how we can increase his appetite a bit.
Grandma left this morning after spending the week with Bennett. Thanks so much for all your help Jill! Bennett had a great time! Then, Grandpa came over and swam and played with Bennett until I got home from LA. I was so excited to see Bennett; I have never gone more than three days without seeing him. We had a great evening swimming and playing board games. As I was tucking him in he started crying saying it was so good to be with me and he misses me so much when I’m at the hospital. It almost broke my heart. At least I can tell him now that soon we will all be together again all the time!!
SO happy to hear that you were able to see Bennett today, Kar - that must be so hard to be away from him and hard to hear him say how much he misses you - heart breaking. We are also relieved to hear that Carter's liver levels were lower today...horray! He continues to look so good in the photos, too. Keep fighting, Carter!
ReplyDeleteXOXO,
Shan
Got to love the internet. When I logged in it only showed Friday's post....but when I posted my comment here was Saturday's post. Praise God the levels have come down...praying and praising them back down to normal levels. Carter continues to look well in the pictures.
ReplyDeleteI command the liver & white blood cell levels in Carter to return to normal healthy levels. Father, Your word says "command ye My hand" so I command a miracle beyond miracles for Carter today. Touch his body Father and finish the healing You started. Bring all his levels (liver enzyme, white blood cells, heart rate, etc) to normal functioning levels in Jesus' mighty name. Graph this liver into his body so they are one like You & Jesus are one. Bring supernatural health not only to Carter, Father, but to the entire family in Jesus' mighty name. Take this family into a season of peace and health in the mighty name of Jesus as they prepare to welcome wee one into this world. Shower them with such blessings like the stars....too numerous to count & know the magnitude of them all.
Many hugs & many blessings dearest Kipps! Bennett you are such a trooper, many blessings of God's love over you honey!
Yeah for the liver levels...so happy to hear they have come down! Great for you and Bennett to have some bonding time. Such a little heartbreaker but remember he had a wonderful time with Grandma and he will also love being with Grammy again. Kids can break your heart and also make it sing so don't beat yourself up...he will understand when he gets a little older that you left him for a week to save his brother's life! You are teaching him some life lessons that will carry him through...he will be a compassionate, loving, giving adult! We are all so proud of you and Matt. Hang on because Carter is making remarkable progress. God is good...thank you for blessing Carter and his family. Big hugs xoxo Cindy and John
ReplyDeleteBennett is the BEST!!!! Hugs to all of you, hang in there, you are doing so great!!!!
ReplyDeleteYou are 100% correct you will all be together soon.. that's the picture we hold for you guys. A complete loving family at home...doing everyday activities...laughing, singing, playing, grabbing toys from each other, kissing new baby brother and sitting with mom and dad watching a movie. God is in charge and this will pass .....in the meantime what a blessing grandmas, grammys and grandpas are!
ReplyDeleteLove,
Jan and Jack
What a weekend for you all! I'm so pleased to hear that Carter's liver levels are going down--let's keep that up, okay God? ;)
ReplyDeleteI can only imagine how your heart felt when Bennett told you what he did. Kids are so wonderfully honest, and it's so amazing that he knew it was ok to feel that way and tell you that. He's doing so much "work" that others don't see as much as what you and Matt are doing, but he's missing his brother and all of you, while continuing to live his little life with a happy attitude so that you can all go on doing what you need to do. I pray that your picture of all being back together comes to pass SOON! You all deserve it, and will be the better for it.
ITB-
Jenny