Thursday, July 24, 2008

Get that hose outta his nose!!!!

Gabriel is tubeless! Thank You Jesus! Mandi and I's day had a precious start. Over the past few weeks at Dean & Nelda's we have spoiled our little boy...Hey..can you blame us?!! Anyway, part of that involves letting Gabe come into bed with us about every night between 2 & 3 am. This morning he woke up at about 4 o'clock and began to shower us with slobbery open-mouth kisses. He would roll over towards me, place his arm on my shoulder, and smooch on me, while saying "oooohhh". Then he would roll over towards Mams and repeat the process. Although I was really enjoying it all, I was also thinking "Gabe, I really need at least one more hour of sleep!" ....he eventually did go back to sleep..not to wake again until 7:45 when we had to leave for Indy. His appointment today was with a speech pathologist who subjected him to a "swallow study". They have him sit beside an x-ray machine while they feed him foods of different consistencies. I'll make this short....their opinion was that the tube should stay in, even though it didn't really matter what they thought. (not meaning to sound mean...just speaking truth) They told us they would call Gabe's pediatrician (Dr.Ruff) and share with him the results of the study, and then it would be up to him concerning the status of the NG tube. Dr. Ruff called me on the way home from Indy. He said a lot of things, but the part that sounded like music to my ears was, "We've got to get that hose out of his nose!". He said that Gabe should be healthy and strong enough to prevent any significant aspirations, but that we would just monitor him day-to-day watching for any signs of not doing well. (ex. fevers, congestion, weight loss) Dr. Ruff felt pretty sure that Gabriel would do just fine.
Removing the tube was quick. Dr. Ruff gave us the okay to remove it. I hung up the phone, walked over to Gabriel, gently removed the tape, and then smoothly and deliberately pulled the tube out.
Thank you for praying for our big day today! Please continue to pray for strength and healing for my bride and son. Bless you.
~andre`

7 comments:

Shannon said...

Your family just keeps getting stronger and stronger... loving every bit of it!

Courtney, Jeff, Ayla & Leah said...

Andre, you have been so strong through all of this. Im sure you never thought you'd have to do some of the tasks you've accomplished lately. We are really proud of you. We are also proud of how far Mandi and Gabe have come. I was just overwhelmed with tears the other day to see Gabe running around better than Ayla and Mandi as strong and beautiful as I last saw her! Keep it up guys!! I fully realize you guys have not been alone in all this...God is good!!

Anonymous said...

Andre and Mandi, PTL God is soo good. I'm don't know why God is allowing all this to happen to you , but I do know MANY lives have been touched by your strengh and all the miracles God has performed since the accident. It shows God is FAITHFUL, if we trust in Him. You all have been a testimony of the GRACE and Mercy of GOD. Thank You, Jesus. Love you all, Helen

Chelsa said...

Yayy Gabe :) God is so good to us!

Leah Robinson said...

What a strong father & husband you are Andre! Each day I don't think I can be any more amazed, you all prove me wrong :) You all are such an inspiration! God is so good!!!

Kristi said...

I am so glad that Gabe is tubeless!! Any time he needs a playmate just give us a call! Elijah and Brooklyn would love to play!!
If you all need anything, never hesitate to give us a call.
We are praying for you daily.
love in Christ,
John,Kristi, Brooklyn and Elijah
ps we've finally started a blog! It's brooklynandelijah.blogspot.com

Courtney, Jeff, Ayla & Leah said...

Mandi, Would you mind passing me your email address? Id like to ask you a question?