Joseph is making strong progress. Saturday Morning Post

Joseph continues to exceed the expectations of the doctors. They are beginning to talk about when he can go home. He is off the IVs for fluid and medicines completely because he is drinking from the bottle so well and able to swallow his medicines. This was very unexpected and everyone involved is thrilled about it. We were able to hold him , feed him , and begin to feel "normal" with him. The nurses are beginning to teach us how to care for him once we go home. We are learning to suction out his nose tubes and to put on his monitors. Due to his heart condition we have to monitor his heart closely and because of his nasal tubes we have to monitor his breathing.

One of the many many great things about Children's Hospital is that they work with the whole family. They have been so good to us and the girls. Yesterday they let each of Joseph's sisters hold him. You can see how proud they are. It was the first time they were able to hold him and they were so excited. The rules in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) are very strict and you can see in the pictures that the girls have to wear gowns. They also have to scrub up to their elbows for two and a half minutes. It was very educational and they have learned how important it is to wash your hands to keep from spreading germs. I think one or two of the girls may end up in the medical field after all this.

We will write more about Joseph's heart condition in a later post but we wanted to explain his nasal condition. It is called "Choanal Atresia." The medical definition is "a congenital bony or membranous occlusion of one or both choanae, due to failure of the embryonic bucconasal membrane to rupture." The choanae is the part of the nasal passageway that connects the nose to the back of the throat. One of the many miracles that takes place before the baby is born is the rupture of the bucconasal membrane. At just the right time in development this must rupture in just the right way so that the airway can form. This did not happen in Joseph's case and so his airway was blocked. This occurs once in about 11,000 births. One of the doctors commented that the more they learn about the building of a baby the more they realize what a miracle every healthy baby is.

For now we are happy with our miracle and thankful that in time he will be fine and running around the yard with the other children.

Love,

Kenny and Mary