HOSPITAL OVERVIEW:

Jesse’s appointment went well today. He only stayed in Day Medicine for about 3 hours, which is better than being admitted for a few days. He didn’t need any labs this time and slept through most of his appointment. The nurses weighed him and he was 17lbs! I was so excited. The week before he was 16lbs 3oz, so it was a great improvement. I am just hoping next week his weight keeps going up and that it just wasn’t a build up of fluid.

Jesse had an IV placed in his arm so they could administer albumin and lasix to drain the small amount of fluid in his belly. They gave him albumin over the course of an hour, then lasix for 10 minutes and another round of albumin for an hour. During the stay, they checked his vitals every 15 minutes. No fevers, but his blood pressure was a little on the high side. He would fuss every time the cuff on his ankle would tighten to measure his blood pressure, but eventually, we got a normal reading when he calmed down. Once they took his IV out, they monitored him for 15 minutes to be sure he was doing well and then we were sent home. Jesse did a great job.

RECAP:

On July 29, 2010 Jesse has a check up with his doctor, Dr. Furuya, to have blood work, to be sure he is gaining weight, and to check for liver and spleen growth. Our goal is to get him to gain some more weight before his transplant. It’s hard work, but we are doing everything possible to get him to gain weight. So far, Jesse is still stable and his happy little self!

My brother, Billy, started his work-up July 22, 2010 to see if he is a good match for Jesse. He had blood work that day, and he had his EKG, X-ray, and some more blood work the day of Jesse’s appointment. So far everything looks great.
Nathaniel, my brother-in-law, will have his final test on Aug. 2nd to check the size of his blood vessels and see if they will work for Jesse’s transplant. We should have a definite answer by the end of July/beginning of August as to who is a better donor and who will be our back-up donor.

On a side note, Jesse enjoyed the beach this past weekend (7-24-10) for the first time ever. He had so much fun playing in the sand and even enjoyed the water!

Thanks again for the prayers and support!