Success!

Thank you guys for praying so hard for Ethan! He finally went into the OR around 12:00 this afternoon, and the surgeon came out around 1:00 to tell us that everything went as planned.

Part of his stomach is now wrapped around part of his esophagus, and he has a little tube coming out of his tummy that he'll be fed through. The plan is to let him rest tonight, and then the surgeon will evaluate the tube tomorrow. If he feels like everything looks good, the doctors will start giving Ethan small amounts of Pedialyte, then transition over to milk pretty quickly. According to the doctors on rounds tonight, the hope is to have him back up to full feeds (24 ml/hr) by Saturday morning.

One small surprise from the surgery was that Ethan ended up losing his central line access (the Broviac). It hadn't been used for about a week, and had actually worked itself into a less than ideal position. The surgeon tried to non-invasively "fix" it but, in the end, he and the PCICU doctors thought it would be best to go ahead and pull it. This is a little concerning to me because we always seem to need those central lines at the craziest moments (remember our whole PICC line ordeal??) Anyway... you guys can pray that this would NOT be a big deal and that Ethan would continue on this "not needing a central line" path. As long as he tolerates his feeds through the G-tube, he shouldn't need anything more than an IV, which he now has in his left foot.

So, basically, all is well in room 5411. He was resting comfortably (thank you, Morphine) when we left this evening, and we hope he continues to do so throughout the night. You can pray specifically for the following:
-the already mentioned central line "issue"
-for his G-tube/Nissen site to heal fully, without infection
-that he would tolerate feeds going into his tummy
-for a successful Nissen ... no reflux = no aspirations = no arrest

Also, we have two special heart friends who need your prayers. If you read Lucca's story, you'll see why we love this little guy so much! However, Lucca is facing a pretty big hurdle right now and things aren't exactly going as planned. Please lift up some special prayers for this little guy and his family. Then there's Jack, who is one of Ethan's old "suite-mates" and has just recently come back to the PCICU from the floor. He and his family would really appreciate your prayers, as well! I continue to stand amazed at the friendships we've made within these hospital walls; they've all been such a blessing to our life and the least I can do is seek out prayer on their behalf.

We love y'all, and are still looking for something to say other than "thank you". So far, that's all we've got :)