Joel - 1 week, 5 days Part II

Here are some pics from my evening visit with Joel:

I will use this photo to explain all the wires. It's not as scary as it looks. In his nose, he has a nasal cannula, which gives a constant stream of air and contains varying degrees of extra oxygen, depending on his needs at the time. (This replaces the big, obnoxious CPAP he used to have.) Also in his nose is his feeding tube...he got too good at pulling it out of his mouth, so now it's taped down! There are a couple of white squares on his chest and abdomen with little buttons printed on them and red, white, and black wires attached. These monitor his breathing and heart rate. The shiny gold heart below his left elbow monitors his temperature. It is hooked up to his bed, which then maintains the perfect temperature for him. On his right arm is his IV...they give him fluid drip with vitamins to get the perfect nutrition for him. The glowing red thing on his left foot is the oximeter. It measures the level of oxygen in his blood. He has a target range (%) based on his age, and the monitor beeps if he dips below or goes above that target. That's all the equipment he has right now...as he makes progress, those wires will slowly start disappearing. Oh, and the thing peeling off his knee...well, that's a sign of his overzealous activity levels. He loves to squirm around and scoot out of his nest...and he loves being on his stomach. When he was really little, he started wearing out the skin on his knees. They had to put some flesh-colored tape on them like knee pads! His skin is much more mature now, but they will just let it peel off on its own instead of pulling it off. It's ugly from the bili lights he used to have, which darkened it a bit!


"Mom, I just want to sleep!"

Tonight was bath night! Joel did not like it at all, until the hair washing part! He calmed right down and seemed to love it! His nurse gave him the bath, but I got to pat him dry after each part she washed. I came dangerously close to getting peed on...thankfully, he pointed the other way! Good boy!




I think the look on his face says it all...


We were waiting for his new bed to be made up.


Look at my fuzzy clean hair!


almost completely spent...


...completely spent. Good Night!