Hi Everyone!  It's been a week since I posted last.  Sorry about that.  It's great to be home from the hospital ... but definitely makes me a much busier person.  

 We've had some really nice weather and it certainly seems that spring has arrived early.  

The kids were so excited about the nicer temps that Brynn and Jonah insisted on setting up the trampoline.  I was a little surprised to see their determination and but it was great to have them work together so nicely.  I do believe this was Jonah's first experience with a trampoline.

Jonah used ALL his muscles to attach the springs and he was quite proud of himself.

He thought it was so much fun to be able to jump around and fall down without getting hurt.

Brynn and Jonah kept up their momentum when Brynn accompanied Jonah to his orthodontic appointment this week.  She wanted to watch and make sure that Jonah was okay.  He is completely fitted for the appliances now and next week they will place them.  

At the moment, the surgeon has said that he may want to push back the date of Jonah's surgery if Rees is still draining from his incision.  He said that Jonah could be at higher risk for infection and is unsure at this point if he is willing to move forward.  This poses several issues for the rest of us, however, we are trying to remain calm and trust that whatever happens is the LORD's Will.

We've been home a week and Rees is doing pretty well.  He has been in a great mood and the warmer weather a few days this week was so nice for him as he was able to get outside to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air.

Every day, twice a day (or more), we change his gauze dressings and evaluate the incision.  He is so cooperative and calm when we do this which is extremely helpful.  He tends to get too nervous at the clinic or hospital and things don't always go as nicely so we are so thankful that he is comfortable when we tend to him.

This week the top of the incision area has changed.  The changes were beginning to make me very nervous so I broke down and sent the below photo to the doctor's office.  (I was trying to make it five days without sending them photos)  Rees is still draining some fluid, which is a concern, but what was more concerning was the purple-reddish colored skin near the area where the hole was closed.  The doctor contacted me and said that it appears that he is developing granulation tissue (which is a good sign of healing).  So, I looked this up, of course. Granulating tissue is the new connective tissue that is created when the surface area is healing from an injury or wound. Due to the number of tiny blood vessels that appear at the surface of this new skin, the granulating tissue will be light red or pink in hue, and will be moist.  The rest of the incision is mostly healed nicely.  Even though we wish that the pace of Rees' healing was not quite that of an old snail, we are so thankful and relieved that we CAN SEE that A LOT of healing has taken place.  Now if I look at photos of a few weeks ago, I simply cannot believe all that has happened.    

So, there is still a lot to be done and right now we just need to keep watching and waiting and praying.  Rees has a lot of healing yet to do before any additional steps can be taken.  He will have follow up today and the rest of his stitches should be removed.  We really need that drainage to stop but mainly for further healing so your continued prayers for that are greatly appreciated.