Friday, March 03, 2006

Eye(s) Wide Open

We arrived at the NICU for our afternoon visit to find out that Gus had opened his eyes! His nurse, Susie, said she went to take off his hat and "goggles" that protected him from the biliruben lights and he opened his eyes and looked at her... This is huge for him and is a real sign of progress for us.
Here he is with his left eye open. The right eye was a little squished and covered by the blanket as he was on his right side.
Here is a shot of his little preemie pamper, a little larger than the size of a dollar bill. We came at a good time and Jill was able to change Gus' diaper. Most parents wouldn't see this as so exciting - but any time we can spend doing "normal" parenting things with Gus is very special.
Gus' arterial line was removed from his umbilical cord today and the biliruben light was turned off for a while. It was so great to see his eyes open, truly a wonder of development happening as we watch... He is probably going to receive another round of three doses of endomethicin to close the backflow valve in his heart. We will hear tomorrow morning for sure. Let's keep praying that it closes with this treatment so we can avoid a minor surgery that would close it with a clip.

God bless and good night!
Gregg, Jill and Gus

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh!!! It is so great to see his eyes open already! I am so excited and overwhelmed with emotion right now. This is a wonderful sign!

We love you all and continue to send positive thoughts and prayers.

Anonymous said...

Jeepers, creepers...love those peepers. Here's lookin' at you, Gus! Barb

Anonymous said...

Gus was handsome before, and now with his eyes open, he is so cute!!! We are very glad that he has made such huge progress. It is amazing to see the changes in Gus in less than a week. All of his pictures are amazing. He sure is a fighter and is very fortunate to have such great parents.

Our parayers will still be coming in strong!

Jen,Matt,and Cam

Anonymous said...

Oh that's just the best!!!! I wouldn't have expected to see that so soon! He is just amazing, amazing, amazing!!!!

I hope you're having a great day!

Anonymous said...

Hey Guys,

How exciting !! This is great ! God has graced Gus with such Strength!

Darrin, Wendy, Doug and Amanda

Anonymous said...

Jill & Gregg,

I'm Mary Elsa's friend Liz in Chicago. Thank you for blogging about Gus. Mary Elsa shared the website with me and I am so happy to be able to follow along with Gus' progress. You all have been in my prayers. He has truly shown what a strong fighter he is!

Know that the circle of love and prayers around Gus are even wider than you can imagine.

Liz

Anonymous said...

Congratulations Gregg and Jill and especially baby Gus! Joe and I are thrilled that you have a beautiful little boy, and that all seems to be going very well. Thanks for letting all of us at Newport PC know of your adventure. We will be praying for you all.

Anonymous said...

HI Jill and Gregg-

All the Varners send their well wishes for Gus(and his parents)> We will keep you in our prayers!

Linda