8 days old

It's a beautiful morning here in Chapel Hill & our sweet boy is more handsome than ever! He had several moments of moving his precious arms around & opening his eyes for a bit. With each passing day, we see more of the sweet baby side of him. He was so swollen after surgery from all the necessary medications, bless his heart. Our own little cream puff! He has responded well to the Lasix & has gone from resembling the Michelin Man to looking like our baby boy again. Last night, Dr. Carboneta came by to check on Isaac, reporting that he is progressing in recovery better than they anticipated. Early this morning, Dr. Mill's nurse, Carla, did a squeeze test on Isaac to help determine when he'll be ready for closure of the chest cavity. This test involves squeezing the ribcage back together & watching his levels for fluctuation, such as blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen saturations, etc. She said he did very well! Dr. Mill will be by later today to assess Isaac himself & determine when they will perform the closing surgery. At this point, they're anticipating tomorrow morning! Our prayer is that Isaac continues to hold steady & Dr. Mill is able to close him up in the morning. A lot can occur between now & then, so please pray!

We still have not heard back from genetics, but did receive some promising news this afternoon. The major concern at birth was the presence of DiGeorge syndrome due to the combination of heart defect, excess neck skin, cleft palate, lower ears (& one malformed). One element consistent with DiGeorge is the underdevelopment or complete lack of the thymus, a organ crucial in immune system fuction & development. During the course of his surgery, Dr. Mill would have needed to move this organ had it been in place to get to Isaac's heart. Carla reported to us this morning that a fully developed thymus was in place during time of surgery! This information is very promising! Praise God! Continue to pray as we wait for the genetics labs to come back, but thank the Lord for this bright ray of hope regarding DiGeorge! With each passing day, our sweet boy looks healthier & more resilient. God is working in our Isaac!

So at this point, the major concerns remain his chest closure, diaphragm, genetics results, & hearing. His left ear appears to have no opening to the canal. Once Isaac is excubated, they can test his hearing. So please pray our boy has the ability to hear!

Jordan & I are doing well. Since Isaac made it through the first 48 hours post-op successfully, we finally had the peace of mind to sleep at the Ronald McDonald House last night instead of staying through the night at the hospital. Rest certainly does the body good! Though this has been a trying week, we've grown closer in friendship & as husband & wife. What a sweet time together it has been.

So overall, things are looking up! Other than losing my new camera, the three Leinos are doing incredibly well. We don't know how to adequately express all our gratitude for all of you, for your prayers & encouragement through this part of the journey. We look forward to one day showing our sweet boy the hundreds of prayers, cards, & notes that were sent on his behalf. What does God have in store for this precious child of His?!



Prayer Requests:
1::Chest closing - no complications, good blood pressure, minimal swelling, lung strength
2::Diaphragm - healing of eventration, ability to breathe on his own
3::Genetics - a clear, good report with no defects or abnormalities
4::Hearing - ability to hear