If all looks good with Zeke’s daily chest x-ray from this morning, Zeke and Mommy be heading home soon. Dr. Petty is confident that Z-Bird will be back at Clan Dillingham and reunited with his bros by tomorrow afternoon. Thank the Lord!

Zeke entertains himself with the wires from his disconnected monitors.

Here are a few big things that have occurred since the last blog:

Sunday night

• Daddy and Gabriel came to visit Zeke and Mommy. The twins had fun fighting over toys as they played in Zeke’s bed. Too cute!
• I noticed that Zeke had a slight wheeze. Nurse Krista said that putting a suction catheter up each nostril would help clear out his clogged bronchial tubes, since Zeke hadn’t been doing much coughing — the body’s normal way of clearing out these passages to the lungs. Even though she said the brief procedure would not be pleasant (obviously), I opted to have the gunk sucked out and nip this small problem in the bud.

Yesterday

• I awoke to find that the water suction to Zeke’s chest tube had been turned off — a sure indication that the gathering nastiness in the top of the tube meant the cavity surrounding his lungs was now empty, and not clogged up with goo; this is the ultimate goal of the chest tube and the JP.
• I put salt in my coffee and lotion, instead of bodywash, in Zeke’s bathwater — quite illustrative of how particularly zany my life has been this past week.
• Being that I haven’t studied anatomy in many, many years, I made an assisting doc draw me a picture of the of the lungs, chest cavity and bronchial tubes, and explain how they relate to Zeke’s current condition. Although he very hesitantly scribbled a diagram for me (he said he was embarrassed by his lack of artistic skills), it helped me understand. So, thanks for putting yourself out there, doc!
• Dr. Petty changed the dressing covering Zeke’s chest tube and JP. He said that everything underneath the bandages looked just about perfect.
• Granny took over hospital duties for a while before heading home, so that I could go see the boys, pack up a few things for the remainder of the hospital stay, and help Gramsey and Papa settle into childcare duties back at the homestead.

Today

• This morning, Dr. Petty took out Zeke’s chest tube and JP, so he is now 100% free of any and all post-surgical gear. It was horrifying to watch as the docs pulled this long, gunk-covered tube out of my son’s chest cavity, but our little Wolverine only did his trademark tear-free angry cry for a few seconds, and then glared menacingly at Dr. Petty. What a brave boy!
• Daddy and Uncle Greg came to visit, and drop off the mini-van and an umbrella stroller, so that Mommy will be prepared for tomorrow’s discharge.
• Zeke has been extremely playful today, but he tires quickly. It’ll be interesting to see how far he is behind Gabriel (who is crawling all over the house and getting into lots of subsequent mischief), as far as physical development goes.

Daddy and Gabriel have fun playing w/ Zeke.

Misc. notes

• Zeke always flashes a charming grin to all the females who enter his room, while he usually reserves a humorous-looking, but distrusting stare for all the men. Too funny!
• I am typing this blog from the Ronald McDonald House Family Room, an adult respite for parents and other loved kids at Brenner’s. This is a wonderful place to get away for a few minutes to decompress from the stresses of the hospital room and compare “war stories” with parents of other hospitalized chidren. Not only do they have computers with Internet, but they also offer free coffee and other beverages, homemade and pre-packaged food, comfy furniture and nice music. This room is a true blessing.
• Other than Granny’s two shifts, I’ve been at Brenner’s since 6 a.m. last Thursday. If I don’t walk through the doors of a hospital or doc office for another 20 years, that would be way too soon for me. Since July 2008, I stayed in the hospital a few nights after my amnio-reduection, a night after my TTTS surgery up in Cincinnati, three nights after my c-section … not to mention countless hours in the NICU after the babies were born, and tons of time at the OB/GYN for pre- and post-natal care, the maternal-fetal specialist for my constant ultrasounds and non-stress tests, the cardiologist for periodic echos on the twins in utero, the pediatrician for five RSV shots for Gabriel and Zeke and a couple sickness-related appointments for Houston, the after-hours clinic for Bull’s lip injury, etc. Sigh. I hope and pray we have a long, long break after this CCAM craziness is over and done with.
• Happy birthday to Gabriel and Zeke, who are 8 months old today!