Vance’s Journey Continues

After last week’s terrifying scare, Vance is continuing to fight his way forward. The doctors and nurses reassured us that his breathing tube coming out from vomiting, while rare, was just a fluke. Unfortunately, this did lead to him developing pneumonia in his lungs.

On Sunday night, he spiked a small fever, which led the team to run a blood culture. It came back positive for infection, meaning our little warrior needed another PICC line placed so he could begin a 10-14 day course of antibiotics. Along with this, he’s been receiving respiratory treatments, including inhaled medications like albuterol to help open up his lungs. They also use tiny vibrations to help loosen any phlegm stuck in his fragile airways—affectionately calling this process his "pulmonary toilet."

But despite these setbacks, Vance is making big strides! One of the most exciting updates is that he has officially graduated from the jet ventilator to the conventional ventilator! The jet provided 300-400 tiny breaths per minute, while the conventional vent mimics natural breathing with around 60 breaths per minute. This is a huge step in his lung development and recovery.

An even bigger win for mom and dad—this change means we finally get to hold him more! Mom has been soaking up snuggles nearly every day this week, and today, Dad got to hold him for the very first time! Seeing Vance settle into his dad’s arms was a moment we will never forget. He was so content, like he knew exactly where he belonged.

And as always, our little man is growing! With his increasing feeds, he is now so close to hitting the 3-pound mark, weighing in at 2 pounds 15.5 ounces. The nurses joke that his little neck rolls "have their own zip code"—music to our ears after seeing him fight so hard to gain every single ounce.

We continue to ask for your love, prayers, and positive thoughts as Vance fights off this infection and keeps growing stronger. Thank you for being on this journey with us—we couldn’t do it without your support. ❤️