First, as of just a few days ago....we are officially free from all oxygen equipment in the house!!! No more air tanks and no more oxygen concentrator (aka "Darth Vader")!! Atticus has been off oxygen for a while now, but to have the home healthcare company finally come pick up all their equipment, kinda makes me feel like someone took the safety net away. Its exciting, but just a little scary, in a good way. It makes me pause and reflect on how far this little guy has come in the last 3 years. :)
Another positive note is that we're working towards being totally G-tube free! Atticus is eating and taking medicine 100% orally now! Yay! We have to go at least 6 months without using it to be able to remove it though. This is a really big step. The idea of NOT having it makes me scared and excited. With a G-tube, I never really had to worry about him getting dehydrated if he was sick, or about him refusing to take medicine. I haven't had to worry if he's getting enough calories/nutrition. But not having the G-tube makes me so excited because its such a big step towards being able to do normal kid stuff like spending the night at Grandma's, or me not having to cringe when he slides on his tummy off of the bed. It'll also be the first time I'll get to hold my son and have him be 100% completely, totally free from all medical equipment. No ventilators, no oxygen, no IVs, no feeding tube....nothing. And that makes me so excited, the mere thought almost brings me to tears. It is such a simple thing, but it will mean so much to me. I'm just not sure if the docs will want us to have it removed before his next surgery though. Guess we'll just have to wait and see what God has planned.
Atticus is continuing to makes strides across the board. He's learning more and more signs, and getting better about using them to communicate. He's getting pretty good at walking, and can almost run! He's also gotten pretty good at climbing things too now, at cost to my sanity. ;). He loves to play with cars, blocks, puzzles, etc. His docs are all happy with his progress so far, and we're just continuing to wait until he's big enough for his Fontan. Thanks for continuing to keep us in your thoughts and prayers. As always, keep on prayin'!
