It has been so awesome for Owen and Molly to be able to bond with their little brother. Lennox's eyes light up and he kicks his legs when he sees them, it’s just so cool.
We did have a rocky first few months when we initially got home and they got to know us pretty well at Hutt Hospital.
In the 5 months we’ve been home, Lennox and I have only really left the house to attend hospital appointments and the odd walk when cabin fever has set in! We’ve had to do everything to avoid anyone touching him and risk him getting sick - a common cold is serious for Lennox and could mean heading straight back to Auckland which we’ve been trying to avoid at all costs!
Owen & Moo have been so good at sanitising or using “magic cream” as we call it. The stuff is everywhere in our house and the kids don’t even need to be reminded to use it anymore – they’ve been so helpful. Molly even has her own real stethoscope…maybe a Doctor in the making?...
Since Lennox’s first surgery when he was 3 weeks old he was too weak to feed so he had a nasal gastric feeding tube which we hooked up to machine to give him specific volumes of expressed milk slowly over a set time - a very strict regime. And we were also trying to re-establish breastfeeding again, all very tiring for Lennox. Just having to breathe and digest milk has been a huge effort for him.
At the end of November, Lennox must've had enough; and he pulled out his tube again. He was so happy afterwards that we decided to let him have a break without it for a couple of hours until he was due for his next feed, but he was so happy we didn't want to put him through the awful procedure of having another one put back in. I syringe feed him through the night and he had the best sleep he’d had in ages. The Doctors agreed to let him keep it out if he continued to put on weight. We were on a fattening up mission...after about 10 days; he did it and hasn't needed the tube back in since. - A massive feat, which we weren’t expecting that early, or the decision to have been made by Lennox himself!
Lennox has loved the freedom of not having his arms wrapped up anymore; he has started rolling, sitting up unassisted, become quite a cheeky-boy & is just generally happier in nature. By looking at him, you wouldn't know he has a serious heart condition…he looks SO good.
We were so thankful that Lennox was doing well enough to push the timing of his 4th surgery out a little bit longer and that we could have his 1st Christmas together at home. We still don’t have a date for this upcoming surgery yet, but know it will be March sometime - we are just waiting any day now for "that phone call" telling us when to pack our bags.
It is disheartening knowing that Lennox has got to go through open-heart surgery all over again, after looking and doing so well. He will loose weight, have a feeding tube back in, and be hooked up to all the machines again - it will be like we are at square one all over again.
We have been told this surgery comes with quite a long recovery (last time we were up there for 3 months) but we are hopeful that because he has put on some decent weight and has become ALOT stronger than he was, that this will all help his recovery.
After Lennox has recovered from this surgery, he should get the all clear from the Doctors to be able to be around kids (other than his brother and sister). It will be so cool for Lennox to FINALLY meet his little cousins and all our friends’ kids. It has been pretty tough, not having any kids around at home and we have missed seeing them grow up too, so a big “Thanks” to everyone for understanding why we’ve had to be so cautious.
Here’s hoping for a straightforward surgery and a speedy recovery for our little battler – fingers & toes crossed.
Lots of love, Nic & Cory xx
