Swallow Test Update
Hello our dear friends,
Many of you have asked about the swallow test and it warms my heart that Jack Evans is on people's hearts daily. The test went fairly well. We found that by using thickener with my milk he can swallow it without him aspirating, which is great news! Unfortunately at this time he is not able to drink my milk alone, but we are hopeful that over time he will learn and be able to. We have started to add the thickener at feeding time as long as he is cueing. Even though we were able to get to this point of trying out bottle feeding we have decided to go ahead and get a g-tube (feeding tube) for Jack. His doctor told us that this is a common procedure/surgery, and we are hopeful that all goes well. We are of course nervous, but it is the best direction for us right now. One of the biggest reasons being that Jack would need to eat 50mLs of thickened milk at every feeding for a few days in order to be discharged and right now the volume he is able to take is small so it could take quite a bit of time to accomplish this. We don't doubt that he can do it over time, but asking him to do that in such a small amount of time is hard. Regardless, we are so proud of him for the progress he has made! Additionally, we want Jack home by Christmas and this would give us our best chance to have our baby with us for his first Christmas. The good news is the g-tube is not permanent and as long as he progresses with eating from a bottle it can be taken out eventually. A specific prayer is that Jack continues to thrive using the bottle as well as peace and guidance for the doctors for his upcoming surgery for the g-tube.
I also wanted to share how we are doing. Many have asked me how I am so strong during all of this and I want y'all to know that I definitely have many times of weakness. I still have my questions on why this happened and definitely have feelings of confusion, anger, guilt and sadness. However, my amazing husband has been my rock through all of this and reminds me daily that it is okay to feel this way. We both don't know why this happened, but what we do know is we have each other, Jack and God. Although I'm questioning things I still pray everyday for peace and understanding and know that ultimately He is in control. Our family and friends have also been amazing in letting us be sad or mad and are there to hold us up. We appreciate all of you!
We will keep everyone updated on the date of the surgery! Thank you again for the prayers and support.
Love, Kyle and Paige
Many of you have asked about the swallow test and it warms my heart that Jack Evans is on people's hearts daily. The test went fairly well. We found that by using thickener with my milk he can swallow it without him aspirating, which is great news! Unfortunately at this time he is not able to drink my milk alone, but we are hopeful that over time he will learn and be able to. We have started to add the thickener at feeding time as long as he is cueing. Even though we were able to get to this point of trying out bottle feeding we have decided to go ahead and get a g-tube (feeding tube) for Jack. His doctor told us that this is a common procedure/surgery, and we are hopeful that all goes well. We are of course nervous, but it is the best direction for us right now. One of the biggest reasons being that Jack would need to eat 50mLs of thickened milk at every feeding for a few days in order to be discharged and right now the volume he is able to take is small so it could take quite a bit of time to accomplish this. We don't doubt that he can do it over time, but asking him to do that in such a small amount of time is hard. Regardless, we are so proud of him for the progress he has made! Additionally, we want Jack home by Christmas and this would give us our best chance to have our baby with us for his first Christmas. The good news is the g-tube is not permanent and as long as he progresses with eating from a bottle it can be taken out eventually. A specific prayer is that Jack continues to thrive using the bottle as well as peace and guidance for the doctors for his upcoming surgery for the g-tube.
I also wanted to share how we are doing. Many have asked me how I am so strong during all of this and I want y'all to know that I definitely have many times of weakness. I still have my questions on why this happened and definitely have feelings of confusion, anger, guilt and sadness. However, my amazing husband has been my rock through all of this and reminds me daily that it is okay to feel this way. We both don't know why this happened, but what we do know is we have each other, Jack and God. Although I'm questioning things I still pray everyday for peace and understanding and know that ultimately He is in control. Our family and friends have also been amazing in letting us be sad or mad and are there to hold us up. We appreciate all of you!
We will keep everyone updated on the date of the surgery! Thank you again for the prayers and support.
Love, Kyle and Paige
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