It is confirmed that Matthew will be going in for surgery tomorrow (Sept. 23) at 11:00 a.m. for his broviac (this is the deep IV line). They will surgically go in at the neck and go all the way down into a main artery that goes into his heart. From that point, he will have a branch coming out of his chest area. This is where they will be connecting the IV nutrition, draw blood from if need be and administer any meds there as well.
The doctors really feel that Matthew does need the intestinal surgery to cut out the portion that is constricted. Without getting into too much detail, they say that it will do more damage in the long run if they wait on the surgery. They were trying to work the schedule so they could do everything tomorrow, but that is not going to happen. However, they may go ahead and do an intestinal biopsy on him while he is under the anesthesia. I am told that this procedure is fairly non-invasive...it's kind of like getting an enema except they are removing tissue samples from his colon via the rectum. In addition, the eye doctor will be coming by to do a follow up appointment with Matthew to see how is eyes are doing. I don't know if he will actually do an eye exam on him or not, but I was told that if that was the case then they may do it while he is still out, so it won't really affect him.
Matthew was a little bit up and down on his oxygen saturation today. He was down on his weight a tiny bit and is no longer receiving any medications at this point in time, but that could change tomorrow. He was still sleepy most of the day, but he was more active than before. As usual, it was really fun being able to hold him.
Please pray for God to guide the hands of the doctors as they perform the surgeries and please pray for God to give Matthew the strength he needs to make it through the broviac, intestinal surgery and his eye appointment tomorrow. Pray for a quick recovery as well. Please pray for us as we go through another trying time with him. Continue to pray for the doctor's to have the wisdom they need when making decisions about him. Thanks again for everything!
Thanks so much for posting those adorable pictures of Matthew; he looks so good. We will be praying for you all today. It makes us sad that he has to go through so many procedures, but we also know that God will get him through with his strength and comfort. How are you both holding up? We know that Matthew will be home with you soon; we will continue to pray this prayer. Love, Seth, Dawn, and Andrew
We are praying for all of you today as Matthew is hopefully recovering from his surgery!
Thanks, too, for the great pics! Matthew is a cutie pie! Love, Jim, Joelle, and Jackson