So Omi has been a little busy lately.
He had his NICU reunion on the 5th. It was fun seeing everybody from St. Luke's as usual. Lots of little miracles running around causing havoc. I think Omi got a bit overwhelmed and fell asleep for half the time we were there.
Can't really blame him though, it was a lot to process for the little guy.
St. Luke's Rocks!
And the next day was the other side of the spectrum. Omi had his hernia operation on the 6th.
Everything went as well as it could go. His surgeon put a scope in his belly button and saw that the original surgery site he did busted back open. He said they count on a little bit of scarring to help keep it closed, and Omi didn't really have any scar tissue. So, it needed to be repaired, which he did. The surgeon said he stitched him up like he would an adult, so we're not anticipating it being a problem again. (famous last words)
He tolerated the surgery pretty well. The first couple hours after he woke up he was really groggy and a little whiny (I would be too) but came around fairly quickly, and by that evening was rolling around in his crib smiling and acting like nothing happened. He seemed more concerned with the pain from teething than anything. Go figure.
We spent the night with him and the next morning got to take him home. The kid didn't miss a beat, but we tried to make him take it easy fro the next few days and were watching him like hawks to see if he was in any pain or having problems.
He seems to be over the whole thing like it never happened.
Fine with us.
Since then, he's been on cruise control and back to normal.
Yay Omi!
PICS!!!!!
A very long story over the past few days told very shortly; Omi is having surgery on June 6th.
The plotted course of action is the same; Go in his belly button with a scope and look at the area with a small camera. If it's just fluid, they will either drain it, or let it go away on it's own.
If it's a hernia, they will repair it if it's large, maybe not if it's small.
Vague enough? We won't know for sure what they're going to do until they get in there and look.
Worst case scenario is full hernia repair and maybe an overnight stay. Not a huge deal.
More later.
I talked to Omi's Surgeon today.
He met with the radiologist today and they both seem to think it's a hernia, but still aren't 100% sure.
So, they are going to do a scope through his belly button so they can visually confirm that's what it is. If so, they will just operate right there. If not, and it's fluid, they will either drain it, or just leave it alone based on how it looks.
Essentially they won't know what to do until they see it on the scope. But, they'll be set up to deal with whatever might come up.
They will call me tomorrow and let me know when we can get in to have it done.
Meanwhile, I think Omi is finally teething. He's drooling a lot and trying to chew his hands off. Those are his main concerns right now. He thinks hernias are stupid.
We took Omi to meet with the surgeon today.
After examining him, the surgeon could not say for sure that it was a hernia and not a pocket of fluid from his last surgery. The radiologist had said that it was indeed a hernia, but the surgeon said he wasn't sure enough to schedule another surgery just yet. Omi had been swollen since he had it done, but it's been slowly going away since then.
So, the surgeon wanted to look over his ultrasound with the radiologist just to make sure.
He's going to call me tomorrow with the decision. There is a possibility that they would go in with a scope through his belly button to drain off the excess fluid, or it could go away on its own.
More info tomorrow.
Well, it's decided; Omi will have another hernia surgery. Same problem as last time, different place. It's actually a better place than last time, and seems like it will be a little easier to get to and fix.
We took him for an ultrasound and even I could tell as soon as I saw it on the screen.
It's the most common surgery for infants, and I'm sure he'll be fine.
The same surgeon that did his last one will be doing this one too. Nice guy, we liked him and he did a good job.
I will say I'm not the biggest fan of putting him under again, but it has to be done.
He's not in any pain, which is good. If that changes, he starts running a fever or becomes more swollen, then he might have surgery a bit sooner. We just have to watch him pretty close for the next week or so.
Anyway, we go to meet with the surgery team at Children's Mercy next Tuesday to discuss the when and how, and I'm pretty sure surgery will be within a few days of that. So, he gets a few days to relax before his next badass scar.
It's kind of gross cause you can hear it when he moves around. It sounds like someone playing with a wet bendy straw. Yuck.
Keep your fingers crossed and I'll post when we know more.
Omi had a blast at the March of Dimes Walk yesterday. So much in fact, that he has apparently given himself another hernia.
I was changing him last night, and noticed that he seemed a little swollen on one side "down there". It felt like he had a little pocket of fluid right below where his incision was for his last hernia surgery. He had been holding on to some fluid that has slowly been going away over the last couple months, and we figured that this might be what it was.
So I called a Doctor and explained to him what was going on, and since Omi seems to be in no pain from it, the Doctor said to just have him checked out today.
Sure enough, after an examination today they determined that he most likely has another hernia. It's odd, cause while you would think that it would have ruptured where he had one before, but this one is in a new spot.
So, Mr. Omi has an appointment for an ultrasound tomorrow and we'll see if and when he needs surgery.
Fingers crossed.....
What a great day!
We had a blast at the March of Dimes Walk, and it was really nice to see everyone there. Lots of people, lots of babies lots of fun.
Also, thanks to anyone who bought a shirt, sported a button or bracelet or donated to the cause in any way. You guys are awesome. Omi and the March of Dimes appreciate it.
PICS!!!!!!!!
Movin' right along......
Don't forget, next Sunday is the March of Dimes walk! Anyone who is interested in taking a walk with Mr. Omi, is more than welcome to do so.
So, Omi had a few more doctors appointments. Yeah, I know, Omi had a doctors appointment? Really?
He had his last round of RSV shots, so that's done. We can start being a bit more social with him soon instead of being paranoid and keeping him in the house all the time. The kid has to get all germy sometime right?
He had a couple of developmental follow ups, and the doctors and therapists were pleased with how he is doing. He's either right where he should be or a little ahead in all areas. Go Omi! And, he's 12.7lbs now. He's finally starting to feel like something when we pick him up now.
Everyone keeps commenting on how good his head looks. Most of the people we see say that they can spot a preemie a mile away due to their head shape, but they say they would never guess he was a preemie aside from being small for his age.
So a big thank you to the NICU staff for turning him on a regular basis so that his head didn't come out looking like a stop sign.
Speaking of the NICU, Omi made a visit to the good people there to say hi. (And admittedly for us to show him off a bit.)
He got lots of hugs and kisses from his Homeys and got plenty of attention, which he just loves.
You know, it's long overdue for us to say so, but the people at the NICU at St. Luke's are some of the best people we have ever had the pleasure to meet and deserve some props.
I can't even begin to describe what they have meant to us during this entire ordeal.
They kept us sane through the whole process, and more importantly, they kept Omi alive and safe. They are part medical professionals, part counselors.
It's tough to explain to people what it was like to be there every day, and not be able to do much for your child than cheer them on and hope for the best.
The NICU understands how scary it is for the parents because they live and see it every day. It was the toughest experience we have ever gone through, and they made a really emotional and terrifying time tolerable.
We spent almost four months at the NICU at St. Luke's and we can honestly say we don't have a single complaint about the way anything went. The level of care for Omi was second to none and we were always treated with the utmost kindness, compassion and respect by every single person on the staff.
Omi was able to thrive there due to the hard work of a group of extremely talented, smart and caring individuals.
These people love what they do, and it shows.
It's an extremely difficult job, and we were in constant awe that there are people that dedicated with the knowledge, training and the willingness to take on the most harrowing situations head on the way they do.
Seriously, these people go to work every day to save the lives of babies. I can't think of a more noble profession.
They were always there to answer every single question we had, no matter how minor, and explain it in understandable terms. If they didn't know an answer; they would go find out. They were always in constant communication with us if something changed with Omi or needed to be addressed.
I had at least one conversation with a Doctor or Nurse Practitioner every single day just to inform me of what was going on with Omi that day, and what the course of action was.
Nurses and Respiratory Therapists were always available to answer questions and give updates whenever we called. There was never a moment where we weren't in the loop, or didn't know what was going on.
These people earned our complete trust through their obvious skills and effective communication. I don't know how many times where Omi would have some sort of complication and we stood there and watched as one of them jumped in without batting an eye and saved his life. They always knew exactly what to do, and could explain to us what just happened.
And let's not overlook the fact that they are just all around genuinely nice people. We truly enjoyed the company of the staff while we were there. Even when times were rough, we always seemed to find something to at least smile about. We might have been down at times, but because of the staff, we never felt like there was no hope.
It takes a certain type of person to do the jobs they all do, and we have the utmost respect for everyone there. They are our heroes, and largely, due to being isolated from public view, their good deeds go unnoticed and unsung.
It also seems to largely be a thankless job, which is unfortunate, because without them, Omi would not have survived. There is never a guarantee of a storybook outcome. In certain cases, children do die. It's never for the lack of effort, but sometimes it does happen.
I can't imagine the stress of having to fearlessly walk in to work every day, and deal with the potential on a daily basis. Luckily, the good stories far outweigh the bad. We commend them for their strength and perseverance.
Unless you've been in one, nobody thinks about what a NICU is, or what they do, and until a couple of months ago, we had no idea what really went on in a NICU.
It's amazing things they can do, and the tragedies and triumphs they see on a daily basis is truly beyond description unless you witness it for yourself.
To top it off; they are so humble about it. We never encountered any huge egos, and they were always quick to give credit to the child, less take any credit themselves.
We know some of the staff reads the blog, and we just wanted again to extend a huge thank you to everyone there and let them know that we thank them every day that we were able to take Omi home, and that he's doing great due to the hard work they did.
Because of these things, the staff at St. Luke's NICU will always have our utmost respect, gratitude and admiration.
All we asked for when Omi was born was that he had a chance to survive. Just a chance; we knew there were no guarantees. They not only gave him the chance to live, they worked tirelessly to make sure that he did.
We feel extremely fortunate that Omi was in the care of such good and intelligent people.
Omi has no idea what this amazing group of people did for him, but when he's old enough to understand; we can assure you that he will.
St. Luke's NICU did one hell of a good job.
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand, PICS!!!!!!!!
Omi had another week of appointments, making him the busiest baby I know.
He had another round of vaccinations early in the week. He pretty much hated them.
Why does it seem that when your kid has a shot, the first thing they do is look directly at you like; "Why?!?!?!"
Next, he had another follow up eye exam to see if he needed glasses. Nope, not so far.
He's probably still going to get them at some point, but not just yet.
Then, he had his follow up at the NICU. He's doing great all across the board.
He's either right where he is supposed to be, or a little ahead in every category they measure him; Head growth, weight, length, etc. He's now 12.5lbs!
His Doctor said if she didn't know any better, she would think that he was between 2-3 months old, and wouldn't guess that he was a preemie. So he's normal, just short.
As I was packing him up getting ready to leave, she told me; "You can go ahead and leave the monitor here."
I can't tell you how happy we are about that. I thought he had another month or so on it.
So yeah, no more "devices" for Omi. We can just walk over and pick him up anytime without having to worry about tripping over cords and getting all tangled up.
We celebrated by going for a walk with him for the first time.
He slept through the whole thing.
His voice is finally starting to get a bit louder, he seems a bit more interested in the world around him and he smiles a lot.
We just need to buy him some hair.
All in all, things couldn't be going better.
