Sick Brother

Charlie continues to gain weight. Today he weighed in at 11 lbs 7.5 oz.

Weight gain is essential for Charlie. First, because of the anatomy of his heart he naturally burns more calories than most babies simply because his heart has to work harder to circulate blood. Second, Charlie needs to continue putting on weight to be able to better tolerate his second surgery, the Glenn. Typically the goal weight for the Glenn is 14-16 lbs.

Like everything in Charlie's world weight gain is a delicate balancing act. One of two things will happen in the future... If he continues to grow and thrive - we may be able to postpone the second surgery for a little while especially if his oxygen saturations remain relatively high. On the other hand, if he continues to grow and put on weight at this quick rate - his heart may not be able keep up with the growth and we may have to do the Glenn earlier than expected if his heart starts to struggle.

This morning his home nurse removed his last suture. He had one hanging on in his belly button that wouldn't dissolve. It had begun to get red and inflamed the past few days. Since it was stitched up after they removed umbilical catheters (IVs through his umbilical cord) it is naturally close to his blood line. Obviously the last thing we need is an infection in his blood stream so it was time to remove it. Charlie did great and his belly button immediately went from an "outie" to an "innie" once the stitch was out!

The only thing we're watching with Charlie this weekend is his brother. Our middle son, Nathan, has been running a fever, coughing and hacking, and generally not feeling well. Nathan is off to the pediatrician later today and we're trying to keep him at a distance from Charlie. However, Nathan loves Charlie immensely and it's hard to explain Charlie's immune-compromised state to a 3 year old. We just keep telling Nathan that if Charlie gets sick he'll have to go back in the hospital....

Today we would appreciate some prayers for Nathan. He's ready to be back at school, back to playing and back to feeling better. Plus - we want him healthy because on Sunday we're finishing up Charlie's baptismal rite at church! Yay!