Big News!

I have some news that I'm excited to share. We have a "going-home" date: June 5th. Of course, it is tentative; we know that things can always change, but we're sure hoping for NO MORE setbacks!!

Avery's last big hurdle to jump before discharge is coming up this Tuesday. He is having a g-tube placed. As I've said before, he has quit eating throughout this process, and although we're still working with a feeding therapist, he's still not letting us put much of anything in his mouth and has mostly quit swallowing. The g tube used to be a huge dread for me, but now I'm looking forward to getting this n-g tube out of his nose which will allow his esophagus to heal some and perhaps slow down his secretions. We're also hoping that he will eventually begin swallowing normally again. Avery is also having his central line removed and a new medi port placed. His c-line has been broken twice and is a lot of maintenance. While it was a necessity throughout the BMT process, now he only needs occasional access.  I hate for my baby to go under anesthesia again and have surgery, but it is a necessary evil. He will be spending about three days in the hospital to get antibiotics and extra steroids while he recovers.

We're hoping and praying that his surgeries go smoothly...his last mediport surgery didn't go so well. We would love for you to help us pray that we can make it through the last couple of weeks of this long journey here in Cincinnati. Now that we have a date to look forward to, I've been especially antsy to get out of here!!

Speaking of antsy, Bryson has been spending the weekend here with us, and he is just FULL of energy. I have found myself feeling bad about how many times I've said, "No" and "Stop" to him. With only me being down here, we can't leave the room for more than a few minutes, so it has been just torture for Bryson to look out the window at the playground and not be able to go out in this gorgeous weather. We've watched cartoons, made crafts (Bryson's new favorite thing I guess from school), played church, played games, and still have lots of time on our hands. We did sneak out to the patio with Avery for a few minutes. I think both of the boys enjoyed themselves!

Thanks again for your continued prayers!!

Bethany