We have some good news this morning. Everett's doctors said his pleural effusion hasn't grown since it was drained, so we're probably going home today. I have to go back to Little Rock today, but Alisha and Everett will go to Honey Grove. He'll come back for a follow-up appointment on Friday. If everything looks good then, Alisha and Everett will finally be able to come home!

The waiting game

This morning Everett's x-ray looked worse. The surgeons that were here decided not to place a
chest tube, but insert a needle where the fluid was and draw it off. They drew 4 ounces of fluid off from around his right lung. The surgeon said that with that much fluid around it his lung was probably around 40% collapsed. Since having this done he is off of oxygen and his oxygen levels are pretty good. He is definitely feeling better. Now we just have to wait and see what the next x-rays show. If the fluid doesn't reaccumulate we'll be heading back to Honey Grove until his next post-op appointment. If it does he will have a chest tube placed.

Back in the hospital

Yesterday Everett had a post-op appointment in Dallas. His x-ray showed a very sizable pleural effusion (fluid around his lungs). He was admitted to the hospital and he had an echocardiogram to make sure his heart function was good. Everything looked really good on the echo except for the pleural effusion and his pericardial effusion has grown some. His heart function looked fantastic, though. The plan of action has been diuretics to try to draw the fluid off of the lungs and heart. His x-ray this morning wasn't much better than it was yesterday, and they say that if it isn't better tomorrow they will take him back to the operating room and place a drain tube. The fluid on his lungs is making his oxygen saturations low so he is on oxygen. His nurse brought us a portable tank so we were able to see the therapy dogs and go to the play room. He is in good spirits, but you can tell he doesn't want to be here. I'll post pictures tomorrow after Chance is here with the laptop.

Bath time

I took this picture last night while Everett was taking a bath. He is doing well, and does tire out more easily than before surgery, but he isn't even 2 weeks post-op. He plays and plays and plays until he's utterly and totally exhausted then he fights his sleep. His appetite isn't very good, and he is waking up about every 3 hours at night, but his personality is back to normal, and he is loving all of the extra attention he gets here in Honey Grove.

Two Days Out

Sorry we haven't posted any updates in a while. We did get out of the hospital and Everett is definitely getting back to his old self. He's running around like nothing ever happened. He does get fatigued after playing outside for a little bit, but that will get better the more he recovers.

I'm back at work in Little Rock and Alisha and Everett are still in Honey Grove. He has a follow-up appointment on Thursday, so they are staying in Texas until next weekend. Since I'm at work, I don't have any pictures, but I'll get Alisha to post some later on.

We're Going Home!!!

Everett got to take off all his monitors today. He was standing up when they took his leads off and he laughed and spun around like a free man. We thought we wouldn't be going home until at least 7:00 tonight because they had to wait 48 hours after they took his blood to make sure he wasn't sick (he ran that fever the other day). But we just found out we have our discharge papers and should be leaving any minute!

Dinner time

Everett hasn't been eating as well today as the past few days, but he enjoyed green beans, an apple, and a breadstick for dinner tonight. I thought these pictures were too cute not to share.