Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Day 28-What a wonderful birthday!

Where to begin with all of the blessings we received today?

First of all, his title volumes are in fighting shape again, anywhere between 6 and 8 CCs--they discovered a whole bunch of goop and goo in his lungs from his two surgeries, inflammation, not being able to cough it up himself, etc., and that was probably part of what prevented his doctors from maximizing on his lungs in the past.

Secondly, the Edible Arrangement was a huge hit! Fruit is fashionable with medical staff, that's for sure...

Thirdly, the respiratory team is aggressively going after "recruiting and conditioning" Rafa's lung tissue. They have a plan in place that sounds very affirming, one that, according to Brian, one of the respiratory therapists, "showed progress" today-YAY! God is great :)

Lastly, Ken, ECMO god, is back on the scene! He is such a source of information and support to us all, we always have happier, smoother days when he's around. Ken was also slowly weaning Rafa's ECMO flow when we left tonight, gently testing out what his system might do with progressively less ECMO support--that's where we're hopefully headed!

I can't tell you how revitalized we are by today's successes, knowing full well how fast and furious the walls can come crashing down again. But for now, the future is bright, the medical community is supporting Rafa and mobilizing everything they have to get him on track, and all of your love and support is making a tremendous difference!

11 comments:

  1. Best news ever!
    Go, Rafa, go!
    Love forever, J

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  2. WONDERFUL news!!! Rafa keeps demonstrating he's a true warrior. We'll keep on praying for more miracles. Love you all.

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  3. Wonderful news, indeed! So great to hear this. Sending lots and lots of love.

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  4. Wonderful news for sure! I am so impressed with Children's, with your family, and MOST importantly with Rafa the Strong. Happy Birthday again and best wishes for a stable and successful tomorrow. Love!

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  5. AMAZING! YAY, birthday boy Rafa! I'm so glad that today went so well, that my boyfriend Ken is back on the scene, and that you all are feeling much more positive. What a wonderful birthday gift! xoxo

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  6. WOO HOO! Cheering him on from afar, and sending tons of love! xoxo,d

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  7. Wow -- what a wonderful surprise!! Amazing!!

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  8. Yay! this is such great news phoebe! happy one month to rafa, and happy one month of motherhood to you!

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  9. So happy to hear about the turnaround, and the good news is just more inspiration for us to keep cheering on Rafa's fighting lungs. Go, lungs, go! Belated happy birthday to our fighting angel and hugs all around for his family from me and Markus!!!

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  10. Praying for your family. Fight Rafa Fight :)

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  11. I had good feelings about the day. No kidding - a NICU nurse who spoke about loving helping babies and their families won Wheel of Fortune! It was probably a rerun, but it felt like a sign! We love you all! M, J, and D

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