Day 18-Rest, Rest, and a Pneumothorax??

Baby boy got a lot of great rest today and cruised through many great naps in preparation for Tuesday's go-round. Mommy, however, didn't do as well in terms of R and R.

Feeling like walking into Rafa's surgery in the dark is very overwhelming. Not because his doctors haven't kept us informed, it's just that none of his support personnel (nurses and ECMO techs) have been allowed to say "he'll make it through Tuesday," and that's a hard reality. I did get in touch with Dr. Jennings this afternoon, just to flat out confirm that he felt Rafa could make it through Tuesday and recover. If anything, he feels the recovery is more major than the surgery itself, and told me that, "if we can pinpoint exactly what Rafa needs (they're doing more testing Monday in order to do so), he'll make it through. It's a done deal."

How powerful a few words can be.

We are still in need of prayers and good vibes, especially since the testing being done on Monday could reveal that the bronchomalacia is in fact better than they'd originally thought, and could be remedied with a somewhat less invasive procedure.

PLEASE PRAY FOR THIS TO HAPPEN!

Last but certainly not least, the latest chest X-ray has revealed a small pneumothorax on the right side of Rafa's chest. This is a pocket of air that is between his lung and chest cavity. If this remains minor, it can repair itself (which it most likely is). If not, he'll need another chest tube put in--this after he "lost" one last night, more by virtue of gravity than anything else.

Again, let's work to give this baby a break, shall we?

Look for "The Thinker" picture in tomorrow's entry!