On Sunday morning, Ollie's drainage pipe came loose. It is under negative pressure, so that meant that air could get into the chest and that would have been a major problem. Luckily Annett acted very quickly and radiographs showed that no extra air could be seen in the chest cavity. The radiographs, however, picked up consolidation (less air than normal) in the lower lobe of the left lung. In came the physios and ordered Ollie to move more and to blow bubbles to aerate the lungs. He still is quite sore and lethargic but through gentle prodding, begging and bribes (the usual parenting 101 tools), he is doing what he is supposed to and it is getting better. It is not quite what it should be and affects the saturation levels, but it's on the up and up.
From one day to the next, we keep on improving! This evening, the normal Ollie appetite was also present for the first time - hopefully, that gives him an energy boost and helps with the exercises he has to do. Birmingham Children's Hospital is fantastic! They allow one of us to co-sleep with Ollie and we can be with him for 24 hours a day. The staff makes a point of knowing his name and ours, and they answer even all my questions! Our experience in the UK and here in Birmingham has been consistently positive. To add to that, we had a visit from my cousin Cobus yesterday. I had last seen him at his sister (and my cousin) Stephani's wedding to Jurgens, in 2006! Well, a long time ago anyway! And Finn and Ollie got to meet their second cousin, Bella for the first time. So Finn got the chance to run around and practice proper English. He did smashingly!
Tomorrow they will hook up a 24-hour ECG to Ollie and if that is normal, the wires that are still in his chest for pacemaking purposes, if needed, will also be removed. Then only one IV cannula remains! Gratefully and humbly we thank our Heavenly Father!
Cobus, Bella, Finn and myself eating burgers and catching up on old times
Sharing a joke with dad. Ollie, my extracorporeal heart...
Big brother Finn reads to Ollie. He perks him up wonderfully and also does his schoolwork in the process.
Second cousins together for the first time
No prizes for guessing after whom Ollie takes!
Good to see Cobus again. Praat hy darem afrikaans met Bella?
ReplyDeleteIt is a great joy to see Ollie smiling again... He will recover quickly, our little champ !!!
PS. Het Cobus sy "accent" veloor !!!!
Hi Jaco, daar is maar min geleentheid om die Taal te praat hier in die vreemde. (nog ń rede hoekom dit so lekker was om ons familie te sien...) Dit was wonderlik om te sien hoe goed Ollie lyk, dit sal selfs nog beter wees wanneer hy ook kan saam rond hardloop! arme oukie brand seker om uit te kom, en te kan speel... Bella het heel dag gister van haar nefie Finn gepraat, Ek sal moet seker maak dis nie nog 9 jaar voordat hulle mekaar weer sien nie!
ReplyDeleteJislaaik, bly om te sien/hoor daar is nog boer in jou... Great dat hulle mekaar kon sien, mens besef nie hoe gou die tyd aangaan nie...myne 12 en 10 jaar.
DeleteHormone en kak... wag jou tyd kom. Die meisies kom jou maar lekker by...nou vestaan ek pa en dogter band. Gelukkig vat James nie meer sy sussie se nonsens nie, raak groot en nou kan sy hom nie meer boelie nie.
Groete daar vir die familie, hoop om julle gou in RSA te sien. Jy sal nie glo hoe dit hier verander het nie. Sleg of goed.. Jy sal maar self moet oordeel !!!
Aai neef, goed of sleg, Huis bly maar Huis .. 😕 Ja, klein dogtertjies is wonderlike bondeltjies sonskyn, maar ek is maar bietjie nervous oor daai volgende trappie op! kan nie glo joune is al amper tieners nie! Hoop dit gaan darem goed met almal daar, ek is seker die goeie resultaat met ollie se operasie is ń verligting....
DeleteDis reg Jaco, se hom!!!!! So glad Ollie's making such a good recovery thanks to God's grace. Ollie is a real little trooper👍. Bly Cobus-hulle kon daar uitkom. Bella was darem bietjie afleiding vir Finn ook.
ReplyDeleteSkuus man, T Beula😊
ReplyDeleteIs dit nie wonderlik om as buitestaander weereens die Hemelse Vader se werkende hand in Ollie, maar ook in jul as familie se omstandighede waar te neem nie. Met al ons gebede en bekommernis dat Ollie se operasie en sy herstel na die operasie suksesvol sal wees, maar ook vir die onderskraging vir sy ouers, broer en familie wat deur diepe beproewinge in geloof en liefde moes aanhou glo dat alles suksesvol sal verloop, skyn die glimlagte weer op Henry (waar hy, Cobus, Bella en Finn) en Anett (waar sy saam Ollie op sy bed n glimlag deel). Hoe verwyderd het ons as Suid Afrikaners nie geword - oor die hele wereld versprei - maar dan gebruik die Liewe Heer weer hierdie geleenthede om familie bymekaar te bring wat mekaar jare laas gesien het! Sal ons ooit verstaan wat die Liewe Heer se Wil hierin is? Wat bly oor - vir ons om elke dag op ons kniee te gaan en te se "Here, dankie vir U wonderbaarlike wyse waarop U met ons as mense werk en dat U ons telkens daaraan herinner dat wanneer dinge vir ons ondraaglik voel - U altyd beter weet wat goed is vir ons en U die uitkoms sal lewer as ons ten volle op U vertrou! Jammer as ek vanaand preuts voorkom - maar jul familie gebeure raak mens diep en laat mens met hernuwe krag weer dink oor die waarde van die lewe.
ReplyDeleteHoor, hoor !!!!
DeleteWell done to Mom and Dad, big brother, and the broader support network... great stuff to see it all coming together to the benefit of the very brave little fella! All the best guys, we're rooting for you!
ReplyDeletePete