A Short Stay Superstar (Another Overnight Hospital Stay)

Jax is a superstar, right? He amazes me all the time. Like, when he woke up from surgery yesterday with a smile on his face and greeted us in the hallway by sitting up in his bed as the nurse was wheeling him out of recovery. Then he started dancing. The nurse said “I don’t really get too many happy kiddos on this end – what a treat!”

One the initial “happy to see us” wore off, he cried for about 2 hours on and off. I could tell he was uncomfortable, but Tylenol and Motrin seems to take the edge off.  Once he calmed down enough to eat, he was happy as can be trying to climb out of the crib and eat the IV line. It was like a jackpot for him – all kinds of wires and tubes to play with! It made for a long day for me saying “No, Jax, that is not a toy! Play with this instead…” Finally, I talked his nurse into taking the IV out and taking him off the monitor – he was doing fantastic, so he agreed it was a good idea.

Jax did great, but we still ended up staying the night in the hospital. The doctors wanted him to stay for observation because of his history of prematurity and the trouble he had last time coming out of the anesthesia. It sucked. It was loud and uncomfortable. And neither of us got any sleep. But, we got home about an hour ago and Jax is very excited to be reunited with his toys…so I guess maybe I’m the tired one! 🙂

The ear tubes went in without a hitch and I already think he can hear better! He heard some ducks on the TV and whipped his head around to see what it was. He never would have done that before! We go back to see his surgeon in one month and he will recheck his hearing then.

The scopes did show some issues. The doctor found a cyst on his windpipe, but he was not worried because it was not restricting airflow. He did find evidence of a collapsing airway where the windpipe meets his lungs. This wasn’t really too much of a surprise, I guess, considering Jax’s diagnosis of Chronic Lung Disease, but it is significant. The doctor is very confident that he will grow out of this problem.

In the meantime, though, Jax may have to go back on the CPAP to keep his airway open, especially if he gets sick. CPAP gives pressure that helps keep the windpipe and lungs inflated which allows oxygen to flow better. I don’t know how this will play out, but you’d better believe we will be doing everything we can to keep Jax from getting sick this winter! We have an appointment with Jax’s pulmonologist in a couple of weeks so we will talk about a plan of action then.

Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers! We appreciate you!

Author: Andrea M

Oh man, what an adventure! I went into labor unexpectedly when I was 23w3d pregnant. Jaxson was born weighing 1 lb 8 oz. A tiny little peanut, but boy was he feisty. He still is! We love it now, but we probably won't when he is a teenager. I write about our journey and all other things that come with it, including a brain tumor. We look forward to "meeting" you - come hang out with us...we're pretty cool. View all posts by Andrea M