The Gavin Chronicles, September 22, 2007

Good Afernoon- I hope this email finds everyone enjoying their weekend. The weather is beautiful here in Colorado and just a great day to be outside. Gavin had a bit of a hiccup yesterday but I think we are back on the>straight and narrow. Preemies born as small and early as Gavin often times suffer from renal insufficiencies. It had been noted that Gavin WAS a good pee'er and as of yesterday was not peeing so well. I was really encouraged by the 2 ounce weight gain he had the night prior however the doctor was not so entertained. This was a sign that Gavin was retaining fluid. They have started Gavin on some diuretics and also on some steroids to help jump start his kidneys. As of this morning I am pleased to report that Gavin peed all over his bed, his blankets, himself and his wound dressing......funny to me!!! Gavin's nurse didn't find him so funny peeing all over at shift change. He did gain weight again last night but I won't tell you a weight right now because it would be far from accurate with his fluid retention issues. They had stopped his feedings last night and they were started again today. He is now weaned from the Fentanyl drip and seems to be tolerating it well. The wound care team will he assessing him on Monday to see how they can help out with his incision. The incision looks good but it is dry so they want to have the wound care team peek at him to see if they can help that along. As for us, we enjoyed the morning watching Brooke play soccer and have spent some time at home during the day today. I washed up all of the preemie boy clothes so that Gavin has clothes to wear.....next thing to wash is all the blankets so I can take some to the hospital for him. Colin is working to clean up the garage so the cars will fit in it before it begins to snow.....which I am afraid will be sooner than later. At this point in time, the target date to get Gavin back towards Littleton Hospital is Halloween. I think this is a long way off and may happen sooner. Gavin is in charge of the navigation of this ship currently. We are all 1st mates while he plays captain. He will let them us what course he is going to take and how long it will take and the rest of us will sit back and watch him. Colin and I attended a charity golf event yesterday for Help Heal the Children. They are a non profit organization who help families like ourselves with preemies. They have been so generous to our family and the generosity flowed yesterday again. Supper Solutions has donated 14 complete meals with delivery and set up for our family. A local gas station has donated the month of October's gas to us for free. We have also received several Safeway gift cards that we can use for the purposes of gas as well. I was so touched by a gentleman at the golf tournament who came up to us after the reception.....opened his wallet and gave us $150.00. This man does not know us. He just heard our story. He was so touched by Gavin's story that he said he had to do something for us. You can learn more about their organization by going to http://www.helphealthechildren.com(http//www.helphealthechildren.com) . The people of God are amazing. I am continually amazed by the love and support we receive daily from coast to coast. Your prayers and support are so appreciated that words cannot express how thankful we are. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as the road ahead of us continues to be long. Christmas will be here before you know it and Gavin will be home. I will update later after we go to the hospital. Maybe I will have more pictures to share.