Our tiny trooper

So one of Kayden's doctors is doing a wonderful study on RSV, right up my alley :) He wanted to know if we would volunteer to be a part of it... psssh! Of course! If we can be a part of helping other babies avoid this nasty little virus, we sure will. So Kayden is participant #104, which is sort of a cooincidence, his room # is 304, there is 4 members of our family... haha ok, thats all the fours I can think of... haha, so maybe it's not. (Did I mention I'm not sleeping well, and could be losing my mind?) So, it's no crazy testing on Kayden's part, just adding his blood work and statistics into their pool of participants. They are looking to see if, genetically, they can prove who is susceptible to getting the worst of the disease. Like I said, most people who come in contact with RSV simply have a runny nose or a cough. But a few, like Kayden, need to be hospitalized, and that is what we are trying to avoid. If these 200 participants have the same gene, they think they can test each newborn through blood work to see if they have this gene also and if so, automatically give them the preventative shot. It makes my heart warm to know that through this awful experience we can help other children. LOVE THIS <3  

They are preparing Kayd today, tomorrow, and Sunday for surgery on Monday. He is scheduled for extubation at noon on Monday. Please, please, please pray for us that this goes smoothly. If his lungs aren't ready to breathe on their own when they take the tube out, he would need to have it back in for a bit. He has a critical airway, and it was very difficult for them to put the tube in the first time. *IF* he needs it back in and they cannot get it back in due to his critical airway he would need a tracheotomy. I'm dreading those words, they scare the shit out of me. So please... PRAY. Some other preps for surgery is a healthy heart, so he had an EKG this morning.... :) Such a trooper.

The doctors say his lungs look great, and should be ready for the big show. At this point they believe his "episodes" are being caused by the tube. It's not comfortable to have that down his throat as you might imagine, and his gag reflex is very sensitive. By getting the tube out, they predict those episodes will no longer be an issue :) 

The four of us haven't been together for over a week now, and are aiming for some family time this weekend. We might even get our Christmas tree and give Max loads of attention. We can show Kayden the pictures later :) He won't remember anyways, but he will NEVER live this down :) EVER!  

Until tomorrow, friends!

Love, Melissa & Kayden