Update December 28

Just thought I'd post this update about Rhys. Alot of people already know that he has been through a lot in his little life thus far. But, that kid is one tough cookie!

His latest battle is a urinary tract infection that he became ill with right before Christmas. It has taken awhile for the antibiotics to kick in, but he is finally starting to show signs of improvement. However, he still has some pretty major tummy issues which may be another infection, or may be complications from when he was sick the first time (in early December) with necrotizing enterocolitis.

Due to all this, he has required two blood transfusions over the past two days. This was complicated because it was very difficult to get and maintain IV access on him. Poor guy has had more IVs in the past week than you can imagine. His veins are weak and small and all the medication is very irritating, so the IVs do not last very long. He has had a few IVs done in his scalp which has resulted in the need to shave little bits of hair from his head. Well, the poor guy is starting to resemble Caillou at this point. He basically has no hair left on the top and either side of his head. The back has been left untouched, causing him to look as though he has a very severe baby mullet.  I had to run to the gift shop to buy him a cute hat because I think he was feeling self conscious!

Last night, the surgeon came to give him a central line. This is basically a catheter that travels through his veins straight to his heart. Central lines are more permanent than regular IVs are. This is the second time he has had a central line so it's old news for tough guy Rhys. He took the procedure like a champ as he does with most of the things that are done to him. His only complaint is that he is damn hungry and nobody is feeding him!!!! (He has to keep an empty digestive system until they can figure out what his problem is).

The complaining about being hungry is actually very good news. Over Christmas, he was basically acting like a limp noodle. He didn`t care about anything and very rarely cried or put a fuss up, even when he was being poked with needles. He has definitely become a lot more like his old feisty self over the past day or so. This is good news. It is puzzling though, because all his lab work and tests show that he is indeed a very sick boy, but yet, he is acting so much better.

We are hoping that the blood transfusions do the trick and he makes a full recovery. He has a lot of catching up to do to get to where his big brother is! Garrett is doing very well. He is starting to act more like a term baby, waking up to eat on his own, and learning to breastfeed! He is 4 lbs 12.5 ounces already!

Thank you to everyone who continues to think of our boys and send us their well wishes and prayers. It is so comforting to know that Garrett and Rhys have so many people that are rooting for them!!!