God Answers Prayers

Toby continues to do well - his little cheeks are getting chubby - I will try to take some photos this week and post some new ones. Tomorrow I'm going to try to press the doctors for a discharge date. The other interview with the night nurse went well, so I think if they want to work with us, we may have our nurses in place! :) Yeah! God continues to answer prayers - He is so good (which the meaning of Toby's name reminds me of daily). We are embarking on our busy week and so many are helping us out - thank you!! Hopefully we will be home soon.

Mommy's Getting Sick

The interview with the nurse went really well. We interview a night nurse today at 3:00 p.m. Toby is doing well, but his mommy is not doing so well - I'm trying to get sick - wondering if I might have strep also. I've been exhausted, so last night I went to bed at 7:30 p.m. I haven't seen our little guy since Thursday, and I miss him very much, but I just don't know if I have the energy to go up to the hospital right now. Mom left today, so we will be relying on many friends and Bruce's parents to help us with the boys this week. Please pray I get well soon, and that the boys don't catch whatever I have.

Moving in the Right Direction

God continues to give us strength through each day. Toby is doing well - he does have a little bit of an infection around his g-tube site, so hopefully that will get better soon. They did an x-ray of his tummy today because it was distended and it showed a lot of gas! Those of you that have been with him know this to be true, he's a very gassy baby (loud too - fits right in with his brothers)...We do all the things we can for him - gas drops, and ferrell bags (these are used to vent his g-tube). Yesterday we received more of our equipment, and went through some more information on the vent tonight. I was able to get away a little bit today and have lunch with an author and speaker that is doing a conference at our church this weekend, and also speaking to our moms group, which I help coordinate. It was a nice reprieve from everything. Conor's eyes continue to look great - except two days ago he broke his glasses!!!! He's getting new ones tomorrow. We interview the nurse at 3:00 p.m. on Friday - we hope this is it, so we can move along and get him home. I just have to say thank you again - I am overwhelmed at times by the giving of so many people, and it's extremely humbling. The encouraging cards, guestbook entries, e-mails lift us up and we read each and every one. Thank you - Good night! :)

Coordinating Care

The training went well yesterday on the ventilator, and today we have more training with the pulse oximeter and the suction machine. We also have another interview for a day nurse on Friday at 3:00 p.m. Toby is doing well - he has some redness around his g-tube site, so pray that it doesn't get infected. I am feeling a little bit overwhelmed right now as we look to next week; we're going to need friends to help take care of the boys, as we don't have any family that can come to help. Bruce and I will also need to take care of Toby for 24 hours on our own before he can be discharged, so we will do that over the weekend and into next week. They recommend doing it separately so we each feel comfortable with his care. I'm starting to feel tired, just tired - ready for the crazy schedule to be over. My brain hurts when I try to figure out how we're going to coordinate next week. God continues to tell me to trust, and let Him be in control!

Our friends Erika & Carl (who have helped us so much by scheduling our help with Toby at the hospital and updated the website :) have strep throat, so they are under the weather. Pray they heal quickly, and that their children will not get it.

Moving in the Right Direction

Things are starting to roll along in the right direction to bring Toby home. We will have our training this week on the ventilator, and had our home inspected to make sure the wiring can sustain all of the equipment. The nurses are the biggest decision at this point. I think we're going to be able to share Erika & Carl's nurse for Evan. She will be able to come to our house on Tuesdays, so now we need a day nurse for the other week days as well as a night nurse. Toby is doing great also. :) He's such a popular kid - all the nurses want to have him at the hospital; I just wish we could take some of those nurses home with us! They're wonderful.

Nurse Interviews - Never Ending

The interview with the daytime nurse also went well. We're not sure if she's the one for us, though, so we are going to ask for someone else - just to have a comparison. It's hard choosing someone that will be in our house 40 hours a week, but we know it will work out soon. We're hoping to get things rolling this week with the medical equipment company coming out to check our electrical and make sure that things can support a ventilator, etc. We are ready for him to come home soon.

Waiting on Equipment

The interview with the night nurse went pretty well. She seemed competent and friendly. We are praying about if we should ask her to come or not. Today is our other interview for the day nurse. Toby is doing well - again we're just waiting on equipment and vent. training. Bruce's niece, nephew-in-law and great niece are with us this weekend, helping us with the boys and Toby. It's such a blessing to have so much help!