June 8, 2007

To his disciples Jesus declared: "Have faith in God... I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him" (Mark 11:22-23)

Kyle completed his Swallow Study on Friday. The testing was done downstairs in the XRAY department and Kyle was thrilled to leave his little corner in the NICU for awhile ...this is only the second time he has left the NICU, the other time being Monday for his eye surgery! He was so alert as he was rolled through the halls of the hospital and just took everything in...his eyes were darting around like he didn't want to miss a thing. I guess after spending 15 weeks in the NICU he was ready for a change of scenery! Okay, about the Swallow Study...Kyle was hooked up to a XRAY machine and given ONE suck from a bottle of barium. The machine was pretty cool and allowed us to watch the barium leave the bottle and travel through Kyle. The first bottle was a very thin mixture of barium. Kyle took literally one suck of the barium and it began to go into his airway. This was considered an aspiration. From here, they thickened the barium a little and gave the bottle to Kyle again. He did great and did not have any more aspirations. I am not truly convinced that Kyle had aspirated in the first place for a couple of reasons. First, Kyle is on a strict schedule where he is fed every three hours, but because of a scheduling conflict with the radiologist, Kyle's feeding was delayed so he was extra hungry...as soon as the bottle was put in his mouth he took a big drink. Plus, his bottle was filled with barium as opposed to milk. I think it may have been somewhat of a surprise when he had that first taste...kinda like if we were expecting a sip of Diet Coke and there was barium in the can instead we would probably cough as well! Anyways, it is a very easy fix, for now they will just add a substance called "Simply Thick" to Kyle's bottles. We were warned that it may take a little time for Kyle to catch on to drinking the thickened milk because it is harder work. Same analogy as I used with the Frosty before...it would be much harder work for us to drink a thick Frosty through a straw compared to a Diet Coke. I am so pleasantly surprised though...Kyle finished both bottles he was offered on Friday, so today his feeds were increased to 4 bottles a day and he finished ALL four bottles!!! The next step is to allow him to try taking a bottle for every feeding, which I am hoping the doctor will recommend in the next couple days. Finishing his bottles is the only challenge we have left before Kyle will be discharged!

Mandy, one of our favorite nurses in Level 3 bought Kyle the outfit he is wearing in the picture above and her grandma knitted him the hat he is wearing. The staff at Florida Hospital is awesome and I have really formed a special bond with several of the nurses during our stay here. As much as I am ready to return to Ohio, I will miss my NICU family in Orlando.

Speaking of my NICU family...Please say a prayer for my friend Breanne and her little girl Rylee. Rylee had her weekly eye exam on Wednesday and her ROP progressed to Stage 3. The specialist was consulted and he said there is a pretty good chance Rylee will need surgery next week. Rylee will be reevaluated on Sunday or Monday. Please keep little Rylee in your prayers for her ROP to not progress any further and that everything will go smoothly if she does have to have surgery.

Much Love,

Jennifer, Joe, Madison and Kyle

P.S. Kyle was being so funny when I took the bottom picture. He kept staring at his hand as if he just realized it was there!