Gus Needs Eye Surgery...

It has been a crazy few days so I'm just getting around to updating... We were notified today that Gus will be having laser eye surgery on Friday to correct damage to his retina (retinopathy.) It is surgery with a high success rate and fairly low risk. Yet, he needs to be put completely out with anesthesia and will be placed back on the ventilator respirator until he wakes up and is back in the groove.

Please keep Gus in your prayers for a successful surgery and quick recovery - along with his doctors and nurses. Nurse Penny is the retinopathy expert in the NICU and will assist with the surgery which gives us a lot of comfort.

Gus has been a little sleepy lately - he has slept through a few bottle feeds so they had to use the tube in his nose to get his milk straight to his stomach via gravity feed. When he is awake he is taking around 30 out of 45 ml. Still building up that endurance and sequencing the "suck-swallow-breathe" thing. He will have a swallow test study done next Wednesday to make sure he isn't aspirating milk into his lungs...

Welcome to the range. Safeties off. Ready... Aim... OK - here is a discrete picture of Gus and Jill doing a little "target practice."

A NICU family portrait. Jill doing kangaroo care while Gus has a blanket over his head shielding his eyes after they were dilated for his exam today... No, it isn't an image that will end up on the "Olan Mills" brochure - but we are very blessed and happy to be together.

Gus is up to 5 lb 5.5 oz and is 18.5 inches long. He has really been growing lately. Other than needing surgery tomorrow and being too sleepy to get into eating Gus is doing pretty well. I was holding him tonight with the blanket over his head for about 40 minutes. When I lifted up his blanket to see his face I noticed his cannula prongs were up near the bridge of his nose - shooting oxygen around his eyes and not in his nose!!! The GREAT NEWS is that during those entire 40 minutes without any supplemental oxygen or pressure he maintained a high (95-98%) blood oxygen saturation level and didn't show any signs of respiratory distress. That is a huge thing as it was thought that he wouldn't be able to go without the cannula pressure very long...

Friday night is also Jill's shower for Gus - so many fine friends have come out to support her/us. We are still hopeful that Gus will be home in 3-4 weeks so there is a lot of work to be done!

Prayerful and patient,
Gregg, Jill and Gus