Tomorrow is a big day!

If all goes well overnight, Matthew will be taken off the mask and put on Nasal CPAP tomorrow morning after doctor�s rounds. Nasal CPAP is very similar to BiPAP but he will have two large tubes coming into his nose rather than the triangular cuff that is strapped to his face now. It will only be slightly more comfortable for Matthew but we won�t have to worry as much about tissue breakdown on his face. Dr. Jim Andrus, whom we also really like, just got back from a 2 week vacation to Cabo with his family. He told us that Matthew will likely go home with a nasal cannula with oxygen flow. This is similar to the innocuous line around his face that he had in Las Vegas. He told us that he wanted to prepare us for that possibility. Honestly, we had to laugh. A little clear plastic line compared to a Tracheostomy won�t take much preparation to accept. He also said that Matthew may go home with a feeding tube inserted through his abdomen into his stomach for feeding until he gets bigger. This is called a G-tube. Dr. Andrus says the less work he has to do getting nutrition into his body (like breast/bottle feeding) the more he can use to grow stronger, lungs and all. On our way out of the hospital tonight we stopped and talked to Eric, a father we had seen several times over the last week. He told us that his first son, Elston, was born with a pulmonary artery and an aorta that were fused together. Three years ago he underwent a similar surgery to Matthew�s and is now back for a conduit change. He had a three month old baby boy with him that is his second son. He said his wife was too scared at first to even think of having another child after all that Elston went through. But, like us, they went through genetic testing to confirm that Elston�s defect was a fluke. They had another baby who is healthy as the day is long and said they are so glad they did. Terri and I walked away very encouraged about the future.