He trains my hands for war...

  He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights. He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. 

Psalm 18:32-34

It is a fact that God gave Carter more strength than I will ever have.  The past few days have been full of ups and downs.  We were expected to go home today.  We would still be tube feeding Carter and giving him IV antibiotics, but we were going home!  That all changed last night.  Carter is required to tolerate 720ml's of formula a day.  The plan was to give him 30ml an hour for 16 hours at night and give him 3 big feeding's of 80ml three times a day.  Carter did not tolerate the second big feeding.  He vomited within an hour of receiving it.  He was still vomiting when it was time for his third big feeding, so he did not receive it either.  He did tolerate his continuous feeding throughout the night.  He did not get sick until 8 this morning.  Carter's output has slowed down once again.  With all of this said we are NOT going home today and Carter has been scheduled for surgery on Monday.  The opening that Carter had dilated this past Wednesday is trying to close again.  Our surgeon is going to go in and open it more to where it will not keep trying to close.  Carter will continue to receive TPN, lipids and we will slowly tube feed him until the surgery.  There are many risks with the surgery.  Please continue to pray for my very strong little Carter.  Pray for our surgeon, that he will have guidance throughout the surgery and for Carter's bowels to heal so he can begin to prepare for his next surgery.

Carter's Nana and Papaw(my mom and dad) gave Carter one of his Christmas presents early...

Can you tell he LOVES it?!

Another surgery....

Today was another busy day for Carter.  Around 7 this morning Carter started vomiting again.  Carter had not really had any output for the past two days.  His tube feedings were stopped and a decision was made to take him back to surgery.  Our surgeon dilated the opening in Carter's intestine that occurred due to complications with his last surgery.  Once dilated Carter immediately stared having output.  Carter woke up perfectly from his surgery.  He is feeling great and you would never know that he had surgery today.  Carter has continued to have a small amount of output since the surgery.  We will pray that this continues and this solves Carter's feeding intolerance issues.  We will restart his tube feedings in the morning and see how he does.  Currently he is receiving TPN and lipids.  We will watch Carter closely throughout the night and the next few hours to make sure he does not get a fever.  We are very concerned about this! The last time he had a procedure performed on his intestines he got septic.  Please continue to pray for Carter.  Pray that will remain infection free, his intestine will continue to heal, and he will tolerate his feedings.  Thank y'all for the love and support that you have continued to show Carter and our family. Your prayers, words of encouragement, and support are truly a blessing to each one of us.

Update 11/8/11

Carter has really started to perk up the past few days.  His bright personality has peeked back out and honestly if he was not hooked up to all of his monitors you would not know there was anything wrong with him.  He does get tired easily, but he was septic on Friday.  All of your prayers are helping and he is doing really good. It is amazing how far he has come in just a few days. He has had his NG tube put in and his tube feedings have begun. His fevers have been down since Sunday and the infection seems to be on the downhill slide. We are waiting now to see how well his stomach tolerates the feedings through the NG tube. The doctors have a rate that they would like to see Carter tolerate before they are comfortable making their next move.  He has had his TPN turned down to half of what it was going and he is still getting his lipids.  Hopefully, if he tolerates his feedings through his feeding tube we can discontinue the lipids and TPN. Your prayers are working! Please continue to pray for healing, his stomach to tolerate his feedings and for him to become infection free!

Keep them coming!

Today has been another busy day for Carter.  This morning the other blood culture came back.  It was positive.  This means the infection is throughout Carter's bloodstream. His blood work showed that he did need to go ahead and get a blood transfusion.  He is currently receiving my blood and doing great with it.  God sure knew what he was doing when he gave me O negative blood.  It has been such a relief knowing Carter is receiving my blood.  Carter's white blood cells were actually low, which is very uncommon since he has an infection.  They were not too concerned with this and are just going to watch it for now.   His pre-albumin level was also lower.  The pre-albumin level shows his overall nutritional status.  Carter has finally stopped vomiting, although he still will not eating anything.  We are going to evaluate putting a feeding tube in his nose tomorrow.  The main concern for this, is to make sure his intestines can tolerate the feeding.  Carter's fever has been much better today.  The highest it has been was 102.  He seems to feel much better when it is lower.  Our surgeon is trying to come up with a plan for the next couple of weeks, which may include multiple surgeries.  It all depends on how well Carter's body tolerates the infection.  Although, Carter is extremely sick he has laughed and played most of the day.  Your prayers are working! Please continue to pray for Carter's body to fight the infection, for him to tolerate the blood transfusion and for our surgeon to have guidance to come up with the best overall plan for Carter.  Again, thank you for your prayers and keep them coming!!!

 Carter during his blood transfusion...being himself...SILLY!

What a night!

Whew! What a night! Carter spiked a fever of 104.7 and was unable to keep anything down to help with it.  He was finally able to get some relief with IV Zofran and was able to hold down some Motrin around 4 this morning.  His fever has been back and forth all day.  Our Doctor's have been very concerned about Carter and have run a ton of tests.  He had a chest x-ray and abdominal x-ray last night that came back normal.  He was started on antibiotics last night and had an allergic reaction to both of them.  One of which caused A LOT of facial swelling and his eyes to swell almost completely shut and the other caused a rash all over his body.  He was given IV Benadryl and it did help with both reactions.  He had blood cultures drawn and the one out of his PICC line came back positive.  This means he has an infection in his PICC line and possibly throughout his entire blood stream.  We are still waiting on one of the blood cultures to come back.  Our physician is very concerned about the possibility of stool in his abdomen, due to the fact that before all of this occurred last night he had multiple tests on his intestines.  We do not think he is currently leaking stool into his abdomen, which is a good thing.  We have chosen to continue to give him the IV antibiotics and pre-medicate him with Benadryl.  The antibiotics are just too important right now to fight off this infection, so we have to find a way to keep giving them.  Please pray that Carter's body will be able to fight off the fever, the vomiting will subside, and the infection will be treated effectively with the antibiotics. Please pray that Carter will fight off this infection, stay fever free, and have no signs of going in to shock.Thank you for all of your prayers through our little man's many struggles. We know that all things are possible with God and we would not have such a wonderful little boy without Him.

Another Day at Batson

Today has been another busy day, full of questions.  The test Carter had performed on his intestines yesterday did not work.  The test had to be performed again.  Thankfully, our surgeon was able to come to x-ray and perform the test himself. He still ran into a bit of trouble and Carter ended up having to have a tube placed down his nose into his stomach.  The test took almost all day.  Once we got back to our room and settled in Carter took a nap.  A little while after Carter woke up he spiked a 104 fever, his heart rate has been in the 200's and he has been breathing fast.  They have given him some tylenol and are trying to come up with a plan to treat him.  They need to make sure all of his intestines are still as intact as they were and that he does not have an infection.  Needless to say it looks like this hospital stay is not going to be as short as we thought.  Carter is still not eating and the 1-2 oz. I have gotten him to take have come back up within 30 minutes.  Please continue to pray for healing and that we can figure out where this fever is coming from so it can be treated correctly.

A busy day...

Today was a busy day for Carter.  He had two tests today.  One to look at his intestines to make sure everything was patent and clear.  The other test was his MRI with sedation.  Carter did great with both tests.  It will be tomorrow before we find out the results.  He is still receiving TPN and lipids through his PICC line and we are making decisions about tube feeding him.  Thank you for all of your prayers and continued prayers!

Only at a Children's hospital can you ride in a wagon to all of your tests! :)

Sleepy baby after his tests...

Back to Batson

 On Tuesday November 1,2011, Carter went for his weekly check-up and appointments. We were told that he needed to be admitted to the hospital for a possible blood transfusion, some IV medicines , an MRI with sedation, and to get his nutritional levels back in a normal range. We are blessed that Meagan has O negative blood and can be Carter's personal donor. If all goes well, we should be home at the beginning of next week. We appreciate all your prayers! 

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from Carter, Meagan and Brandon!

 Daddy and his puppy..

Since my last post Carter has been able to stop his antibiotics.  He is still recieveing his TPN 24 hours a day and lipids 10 hours a day. He is still infection free and doing well! We go for our normal every Tuesday appointment with our surgeon tomorrow. We have another appointment at UAB on Monday, although I am uncertain if Carter is stable enough right now to travel that far.  I will find out tomorrow. Carter really enojoyed his second Halloween.  He trick-or-treated at my families and carved pumpkins!  Happy Halloween!!!

Here are a few pictures of Carter getting ready to carve pumpkins!

Oh how I LOVE this little thing!

Carter's pumpkin's...Can you tell who rules our house?



Well this one is just too cute not to share! :) 



I have to start with an apology. I am sorry for such a brief last update. I have been overwhelmed with all of Carter's care. I did not realize how hard it would be. I thank God everyday for leading me to my career. Although, it is hard to admit, if I was not a nurse there would be NO WAY I could do all of Carter's care right now.

The past few weeks have made me realize just how fragile and temporary our lives are here on earth. We are all here with one goal and that's to get to heaven. I sometimes question how God could forgive me for all of my sin and why he chose Carter (the son of two very ordinary people) to carry such a heavy cross. Then I am reminded "For Christ died for sins once for all the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God." 1 Peter 3:18a. I also know there is no stronger little boy that could and would fight through all of this pain. I know I couldn't. His strength amazes me. One day his cross will be lifted and oh how I cannot wait to be in heaven to see that day. If God had the strength to give his only Son so I could get to heaven then I have the strength to climb this small hill on Carter's journey.

So a little about my little gift. Carter's day consist of constant TPN, 10 hours of lipids and back and forth antibiotics going through his PICC line. Of course, his antibiotics are not compatible with his TPN, so we are constantly flushing, cleaning and starting or stopping fluids. We are also closely monitoring his intake and output and he has multiple dressing changes a day. So as I said before to say that I have been busy is an understatement. Again, thank God I am a pediatric nurse and already had the knowledge to provide Carter with the care he needs. We would most likely still be in the hospital if not.

Our heads are still above water and Carter is doing great. Carter clapped and smiled for hours once we got home from the hospital. I guess, since he has had to stay home so much he loves it. There is no other place he would rather be. He is a different child at home. When Carter got discharged from the hospital, he was unable to sit up on his own. He is gradually building his strength and has started crawling again and can sometimes pull himself up. I have been very impressed with his progress. He is a different baby than he was a few weeks ago. Carter's TPN has made a huge difference. He has hair! His teeth have really started to come in and his personality and speech have really developed. When he is awake he is much more aware and alert. He is still sleeping a lot during the day. He spends most of the day sitting in his boppy playing with his toys watching Veggie Tales. I usually try to minimize his TV (he is an addict) but right now he is healing and it makes him happy.

Every Tuesday we see our surgeon, get blood drawn for our GI Dr. and go to our home health agency for Carter's weekly PICC line dressing change and physical. I am very thankful everyone worked together, so I only have to get Carter and all of his supplies out one day a week.

Even though we have been extremely busy, I cannot say how happy I am to be Carter's mom. He melts my heart. I have no other desire in the world, but to be his mommy. Of course, my heart melted a little more while in the hospital, he started saying "I want my mama!" during one of his dressing changes. Now Carter's vocabulary consist of mama, uh-oh mama and now I want my mama! Don't feel too bad for Brandon. He calls him mama too.

For right now Carter will stay on his IV medications and we will continue to closely monitor him. If he stays infection free he will have his next surgery in 5-7 weeks. If he gets a fever or has any signs of infection he will be admitted back into the hospital. I ask for continued prayers, specifically for healing, strength and for him to stay fever and infection free.

I cannot begin to say how thankful Brandon and I are for each and every one of our followers on this crazy little journey called Carter's Journey. We honestly could not do it without all of you. You have no idea how much an encouraging word or even a short e-mail means. This past year I have been blown away by the growth and amount of love our family has received by followers of Carter's Journey. I am thankful to each and every one of you and as always..To him be the Glory!

Busy, busy, busy!

 To say that we have been busy may be an understatement. The good news is Carter is home and doing great! He is still receiving two very strong IV antibiotics, TPN and lipids. He is still infection free and his wounds are healing well. If everything continues to go well, we will return to Batson for another surgery in 6-8 weeks. This will be to repair the complications he had with his last surgery. Thank you so much for all of your prayers and continued prayers.

 

Yesterday, Carter had his PICC line put in and he did fantastic.  The wonderful PICC team allowed me to stay in the room the entire time and talk to and love on Carter.  The PICC is working great!  Today, Carter's incision, that stool is coming out of, decided to open up even more.  It opened to the point there is visible intestine.  There is still nothing that can be done right now.  The plan, for right now, is to take Carter home on Friday with the PICC line.  He will receive two different antibiotics and TPN. TPN is an artificial way to feed Carter through his IV.  It fully bypasses the digestive track.  Carter started TPN last night to give his digestive system a break.  The only negative part of being on TPN is that while being in the hospital is, Carter cannot eat. Once we are at home, Carter will be allowed to eat even though the TPN will still be his primary source of nutrition. Our family appreciates all of the prayers and words of encouragement. God is good...ALWAYS!

Laying around watching Veggie Tales!

 Last night the flood gates of complications opened for Carter. Stool started pouring out from his old incision and his new stoma has stopped producing(or ever so close). This is as it sounds...Not good. It is not possible at this time to make a repair. The intestines have been through so much in the last seven days that the risk out weigh the rewards. It could actually send his progress backward if a repair were unsuccessful at this point. There are a lot of risks with the current situation and the main one is infection. Carter will remain in the hospital a few more days to run IV antibiotics and to make certain there is no stool spilling into the abdomen. Also, tomorrow Carter will have a PICC line put in. This is a central catheter  that will be inserted in his arm and will go to a large vein in his chest near his heart. The need for this is pretty large as he has had to have five IVs in 7 days. His veins are very fragile making it tough to keep a good site for any length of time. We appreciate all of the prayers for Carter in the past weeks and we appreciate the ones to come in the next few weeks. There is no doubt God will see Carter through this as He has all other obstacles.

Carter is such a trooper! He is still smiling even though he is so sick!

 To start I had already written this blog entry and planned on posting it until our night went a little crazy. So here it is and a new blog update will follow. The past few days have been overall uneventful.  One of Carter's incisions opened the night before last, around midnight.  It took until around 2:30 to figure out what needed to be done for it.  The on call Doctor and I decided to clean it and place a clean dressing over it until in the morning.  In the morning another on call Doctor decided to do the same thing until Monday.  Right now we are keeping it as clean as possible and watching it.  I am praying we can keep it infection free and it will not set us back. Carter woke up feeling great this morning! He woke up at 6:30 and stayed awake until 11:30. This is the most he has been awake since surgery. I think it may have been a little too much for him though. He went to sleep at 11:30 and slept until 4:00. When he woke up he seemed to be in pain and needed pain medication. Although, I am happy he is finally able to rest. Carter still has a long way to go, although he is doing MUCH better! Thank you so much for all of our prayers and continued prayers. Please continue to pray for healing, continued pain control and for his incisions to remain infection free.

Just playing!

 Loving on Mommy!