Still Healing

We took some pictures of Graham's omphalocele today during his dressing change. They have trimmed away some of the vicrylmesh that was covering the omphalocele and are happy with the tissue that is starting to form that will soon be skin. The white part that you see is granulation tissue. It looks very open and scary, but we are assured this is what it is supposed to look like. It is healing well. When Graham has his final surgery in the fall, all he will have is a small incision down his abdomen and even have a belly button! It's hard to imagine.

Our little baby is still battling horrible swelling. He has gained over 2 lbs just in fluid. The skin on his hand and foot is actually starting to peel off. Dermatology was just here and they are keeping an eye on the rash and the peeling. Poor little guy. We shift him from his back to one of his sides every two hours because the fluid starts to pool. Even though Graham's kidney function is getting back to normal, the swelling will take some time to go down.

G is still on the ventilator. His lungs are better and he's basically breathing on his own, but with all the swelling, that can make it difficult to breath, so the tube stays in for now.

As all bacteria and viral cultures come back negative, there are still no answers as to what has caused all this to happen. As frustrating as that can be, I am focusing on making sure Graham is comfortable. All that swelling makes his skin very tender to the touch. Mommy and Daddy are having to refrain from the kisses on the hands and feet to the forehead only : ) He is getting morphine and another pain med I can't spell to help him get the rest he needs to mend.

I have to say, Graham is quite the heartbreaker here in the NICU at Riley. He's got all the nurses wrapped around his puffy little finger. He gets lots of visits from nurses he's had in the past and they all dote on him and give him nothing but the best care in the world.