So much to say!!!

I am going to make this as short and sweet as possible...

Zoey FINALLY had surgery on July 19th.  Everything went great!  She came back to her room with a chest tube, a ropgle (the suction for her esophagus) intubated, and with a thousand IV's and some brand new boo boos!
Here are a few pictures from right before surgery:

The staff of the NICU was kind enough

to make an acception for us to bring Abbey back for

a prayer before they took Zoey over.  Stewart leaned

her in so she could see Zoey and she reached

out her hand to touch her, as if to say, everything is going to be

ok.

It was such a heart warming moment.

We were also lucky enough to snap a quick shot

of the 4 of us before abbey had to get out of there.

This might not be the greatest picture, but this

is the first family photo of all four of us together. ever.



After Surgery:

Over the course of the next few days Zoey really started to progress.
Her first night she opened her eyes to see what all the fuss was about.

The next day, Zoey decided she was going to breathe over the ventilator and that she didn't need it anymore..so to oxygen we go =)

Then that night she decided she no longer needed the ropgle because she was a big girl now and could swallow her own spit, so she pulled it out herself!

I moved the oxygen just for the photo, she was still on it though.

That day she also decided that she was ready to go back into her big girl crib.

And then she decided that she just didn't need the oxygen anyways...she was ready to have nothing on her face for the first time in her little bitty life.



And she was quite happy about having nothing on her face too...and so was mommy and daddy!

Progression has been somewhat slow to say the least.  Zoey is doing just great though.  A week after her surgery we went for an Esophagram, which is where they have her swallow contrast and watch it go down under live x-ray to make sure that she has no leaks in her esophagus.

Unfortunatly she had a very tiny one.  Until there are no leaks in her esophagus at the repair site, zoey has to have a chest tube in place ready to drain any fluid that might leak from her esophagus. However, they gave her the contrast in a bottle to see how she would do...and she did so well!  Never choked up or anything. Took like she has been taking one since day one!

The next study will hopefully be tomorrow, or tuesday, which will be day 10 or 11 after the last study.  By now there should be no more leaking and we should be able to remove her chest tube, start her on feeds, and get ready to GO HOME!!!!

We have run into small "minor" (haha) issues however.

One- Zoey has now been moved into isolation...her chest tube, that so badly needs to come out, is growing Staph.  The problem is, you can't just take it out.  Everyone I have talked to has asked, well why don't they just take it out.  Its not that easy.  Even though there is no fluid coming out of it, and the leak has likely closed up by now, you can not just take it out until she has a study and we are 100% sure she is healed.  So there is no way around it. Which is why we are really hoping her esophagram is tomorrow because then it can be taken out.  But, Zoey does not have staph.  It is growing in her chest tube in old nasty fluid that has been there since surgery...she is on antibiotics to make sure that she stays healthy, and uninfected.

Two- Zoey had a new G-Button put in during surgery...when we tried to restart her feeds a few days after surgery, it started leaking again.  We were not to happy about this to say the least after what happened the last time.  I decided that four g-buttons later...yes 4!! Something else needed to be done.  I felt like the only option I really had at this point, was to fire her surgeon and get a new one on board that would actually listen to mine and Stewart's concerns.  So that is just what I did.  We now have the chief of surgery taking over her case...and every idea or option that we thought would work for zoey, he thought was great too.  I had asked her old surgeron if we could take out Zoey's button, close the hole and put in a new one in, in a different and better position.  She said it couldn't be done, and that Zoey's stomach was too small.  The new surgeon has said it can be done no problem.

I also asked months ago, if Zoey could have the g-tube put back in because it did not leak near as bad...but the old surgeon never did.  Finally 4 g-buttons later and 5 months later, she has realized she can't prove me wrong by making the g-button work, and was gonig to put in the tube...This is probably what sent me over the edge...Something could have been done that I suggested a long time ago, but it was just tossed to the side.  Needless to say Zoey does not have a tube right now, because I would not let her touch my child.

So here is the game plan. 

Zoey will be going over for an esophagram.  If there are no leaks her chest tube will come out.  Then while we are in radiology, we will see if we can get a transpyloric tube down her nose and through her tummy.  This will go through the pylorus muscle and into the intestines.  If we can do that, we will take out her g-button and close up the whole.  Then we will see what Zoey can do.  If she takes full feeding, then awesome, but not likely.  We already know she can suck and swallow out of a bottle which is very impressive and quite suprising.  But, can her tummy hold a minimum of 4 oz?  Which is what she needs to maintain and gain weight.   Probably not right now. We will need a way to be able to feed her, without overloading her...which is why we have the tube.  Whatever she can't finish we will push with a syringe into the tube.  It will also bypass the tummy so that she does not get too full, and throw it all up.

Hopefully within a coupld of days her g-button site will be healed up, she will be taking full feedings, and we can get rid of the tube and go home.  That would be just fantastic....

But here is the more likely scenario....

Either A, she doesn't take to full feeds, and she is getting ready to go home in a few days so we will need to take her over for a new and better g-button, because babies can't go home with a tranpyloric tube.  If she ever pulled it out I would have no way to put it back in without coming back to the hospital.  So a g-button is just more practical.

Or B, we can't even get a transpyloric tube down to begin with, so we will take her over to surgery, take out the old button, close the hole, make a new one, and then use that to give her the rest of her feedings.

Either option is great, and could mean her coming home within the next week in a half, to two weeks...

As long as their is no leaking...so I pray, that there is no leaking and I can finally take my baby home!!