June 8th

Today was thankfully a quieter day, and after the roller coaster we've been on lately, we'll take quiet.

Colton

The biggest update for Colton is that the team has decided to hold off on the MRI for right now. Since he has been doing better clinically, they don't want to risk disturbing his trach site while it's still healing. The goal is to give that area every opportunity to heal completely before putting him through anything unnecessary.

His cultures continue to provide more information. The good news is that his blood cultures still show no growth. Because there are still concerns about a possible infection, the team plans to continue strong antibiotics for at least two weeks to treat anything that might be present.

He tolerated more feeds today and remains stable on the ventilator with oxygen needs around 30%… we even had him down to 25%

A huge mom milestone happened today too.. I changed Colton's trach ties for the very first time. It may seem like a small thing, but for me it felt like a big step forward in learning how to care for him and becoming more confident in all of this.

Declan

Our sweet boy continues to keep everyone guessing.

The biggest challenge today was his belly. Every time we try taking his stomach tube off suction and letting it drain by gravity, he becomes uncomfortable, agitated, and his belly becomes more distended. When the team placed it back to suction, he settled down again.

Because of that, we're trying very hard not to rock the boat. The plan is to leave him on suction today and cautiously try gravity again tomorrow when one of his favorite Nurses is here. We all agree that moving slowly is better than risking setbacks.

His x-rays still show contrast moving through his colon, which is reassuring, and he's continuing to stool. Surgery does not have any acute concerns at this time, but they want his abdomen less distended before restarting feeds.

As much as we would love to get nutrition started right away, everyone is focused on protecting his belly and making sure we don't create bigger problems by moving too fast. At this rate, feeds may be a possibility sometime around Wednesday, but that will depend entirely on how he does over the next few days.

Looking Ahead

Today wasn't filled with major victories or major setbacks. It was a day of patience, healing, and careful decisions.

Colton continues to improve, and we're grateful that the team feels comfortable holding off on additional testing for now. Declan is reminding us once again that he sets his own schedule, and we'll continue following his lead while his belly heals.

Thank you all for continuing to pray for our boys. We appreciate every message, every prayer, and every person walking alongside us through this journey.

Boss Declan