Saturday

Our little buddy is doing so well in his new environment. I get the feeling that if he could he would give it an enthusiastic two thumbs up! The nurse who stops by from Home Health saw him for a second time on Monday (the first time was the evening we got home), and couldn't stop gushing about how much better he looked already. He really does look great! His belly had been really distended in the hospital for his last few weeks there--all that is gone now and some of the generalized swelling has gone down also. If we can keep from waking him up when we give him his medicines, he will often sleep for longgg stretches at night. But the biggest and best change we've noticed is little smiles and coo's. Heart. Melting. Jackson has worked his way into every inch and corner of our hearts. His care is SO demanding (so far we haven't been able to get any extra nursing care), but there certainly isn't a drop of bitterness in it...he is SO worth it.

Jackson had his first follow up visit yesterday with a cardiologist in Columbia. It turned out to be the one I mentioned in our initial story who so gently explained to us all that was wrong with Jackson's heart! He indicated that he has kept up with Jackson's progress ever since then. It was such a relief to know we will be in very good hands for follow up care.

Our next follow up appointment is in St Louis next week and may be the point at which the IV can come out...! We continue to cherish your prayers--we all started getting sick with bad colds almost as soon as we got home. It has been hard to recover because of limited time to rest. So far Jackson hasn't caught it, and we are praying he wouldn't catch ANY sicknesses this winter. Here are a few recent pictures--including Bethan wearing a mask during her sickness. :)