Progress

Burke has made a lot of progress today. He is more calm today than yesterday by far! He was thrashing a ton yesterday but today they said he is acting more like a normal patient would and how they prefer him to act. When he wakes up he is calm and more reasonable than he was yesterday.

Milestones for today are- the LAP line is out with Burke's help! That line is measuring the pressures in his left atrium and is sewn into the skin so it wouldn't get dislodged too easily. Well, Burke decided on his own that it needed to come out this morning. So he just rolled over and undid some of the stitches! I guess it was pretty crazy in here after that. They get worried if that gets pulled out because there could be residual bleeding in his heart if it occurs. They did an ultrasound to make sure there wasn't any damage internally and thankgoodness there wasn't! There was quite a lot of bleeding at the site of the stitches so they had to give him some blood to make sure he had enough from what he lost but then also give him a buffer if it decides to bleed a lot more later. They were planning on taking out that line today anyways, Burke just wanted to get that going!

When they were trying to give him blood they found that most of his IV ports in his hands and feet were ruined in the whole ordeal. As a result they had to pull two maybe three of those out. Burke is a man who knows what he wants. They do have to put another line in for emergency situations which will stay in until we leave, but they will do that tomorrow.

They have also weaned him down on his oxygen flow which I am so glad because he hasn't been able to eat on the high flow cannula. He took his sippy cup just great! Actually he has been asking for a drink since yesterday! So, today he has taken a ton of water. He is still groggy from the drugs but he is doing great now that he can drink again. He fell asleep just a little bit ago so we haven't fed him solids yet but we will later on today. And they don't want to rush into too much food too soon.First time drinking from his favorite sippy since before surgery!

Tyler held Burke today for the first time since surgery. I went to take a nap at the hotel and Ty got to hold Burke and Burke just LOVED it! They fell asleep together and had a two hour long nap together! Total bliss!

Being held for the first time since before surgery!

So, for the really good news... they think he will probably be moved to the floor tomorrow which is one step closer to going home. And one of the doctors said that MAYBE just maybe he would be ready to go home for Christmas!!!!! I don't know if I should even say that so I won't get too disappointed if it doesn't happen, but wouldn't that be amazing if we could get out of the hospital basically a week post-op! They say that he is progressing great and there is not much more they need to do for him in the hospital.

I have been worried about if he will be able to eat enough or gain enough weight to get discharged from the hospital, but they say he doesn't necessarily have to gain weight in the hospital in order to get discharged, he just has to prove that he can stay hydrated. He loves his sippy cup so hopefully he will keep progressing nicely over the next few days and we will be out of here!! YIPPEE!!!

They also took out his feeding tube when they extubated him. I am so glad they took it out for many reasons but the main one is that they can't rely on it and just start feeds through the tube of which I am SO glad!

Like I said early they are weaning his oxygen slowly. They will take him off the oxygen all together tomorrow!! I can't even believe it. I mean that is what this surgery was supposed to do- get him off the oxygen- but I just can hardly comprehend Burke not needing oxygen. I get totally and completely excited and giddy inside to think of the possibilities for this little guy!!