Details...

For those who like a few more details about life with Jonathan, this one is for you!

Jonathan was discharged from the hospital with an open wound still healing on his back.  So, we received a special car "bed" that fastened into the car for our trip home.  He laid on his belly and we fastened him in.  We can also use this seat to travel to and from doctor appointments over the next couple of months.

At home, we've set up a little area near his bed that we keep all the supplies for caring for his back.  We are trying to keep this area sterile.  (I ask, "How sterile can our house be with three other little children running around?")  We have to change the dressing on his back every twelve hours and watch for any signs of infection.  His back is healing remarkably well, but it is a slow process.  The wound is cleaned with peroxide and then a piece of gauze wet with saline solution is tucked inside the wound on this back.  This gauze spends the next 12 hours drying and sticking to the top layer of Jonathan's wound.  With the next change of the dressing, we take off the dry gauze which pulls off any unwanted scabs or growth.  Definitely something I never thought I would be doing for any of our children, but not so bad after the first few times.

I do feel the need to remind our surgeon every once in a while that there is a reason that I never even thought about medical school:)  Guess we will be receiving an education first-hand along the way because we already know much, much more about IV's and oxygen and infection and different types of bodily fluids and bladder control and well, you get the idea!

The other major thing we are monitoring right now is Jonathan's shunt.  You may have noticed from pictures that his head is still large for a newborn.  The shunt was placed there to slowly drain off the fluid at the same time his head and, hopefully, brain matter slowly grow.  These two should "meet in the middle," so to speak, after a period of time.  One of the most important things Jonathan is doing right now is growing into his head!  We have to watch the incision site and shunt itself to make sure nothing looks abnormal or any different than the day he was discharged from the hospital.  It's also very important for us to watch for signs of infection, as infection in the shunt would mean its removal and a round of antibiotics before another shunt can be inserted.

All of this makes me wonder if God doesn't have a sense of humor.  Does He really know who He's asking to care for this precious little boy?  Two of the greatest worry warts when it comes to our children and medical needs!!!!  Maybe this is His way of telling us to relax and trust Him.  All I can say is that I'm incredibly grateful that the hospital is just a short drive away and we do have doctors and nurses to call with any questions.  This is a giant leap from the days overseas wondering what to do when one of our children got sick and we couldn't understand what was going on and what we needed to do.  Thank you, Lord, for leading us to great medical care during this time when we need it so greatly!