Although Saela had a good day yesterday - she decided to give mom and dad a few gray hairs last night. (I did NOT have gray hair before this - rest assured - I will now!) When we returned to the hospital after a bout of severe weather that left our house without power, we were met with a child who decided she did not want to work harder than the ventilator to get O2 to her little body. She needed to be "bagged" in order to get her oxygen saturations to rise. She also required a second medication to keep her blood pressure adequate.
After a tense few hours, the decision was made to change to a different kind of ventilator called an oscillator which makes her little chest vibrate. That made an immediate difference in how she was responding to all of her other treatments. Steve and I were then able to at least get a little sleep.
After a quick run home for showers and change of clothes this morning (and some loving for Jax & Jilly) we returned to the hospital to see that Saela continued to do well on the new ventilator. The staff had been able to start weaning down her O2 as well as one of the medicines that was helping to keep her blood pressure adequate.
Saela continues to do well this afternoon. At this point they will start weaning both of the blood pressure medications and they have her oxygen requirement down to 66% from 100% less than 12 hours ago. We are cautiously optimistic that she has finally turned the corner and will continue making forward progress instead of one step forward and two steps back. She will be on IV antibiotics for 10 days - so she will be here until at least next weekend. It's amazing how fast you lose track of time when you are not on a schedule. I had to ask somebody what the day was today. I would have failed a mental status question that I am asking other people all of the time.
The staff here has been fantastic. I cannot say enough good things about them - especially the team that helped us through last night. I think that is about all for now. We hope everyone is having a nice weekend - we will keep you updated!
Thanks again for all of your love and support!
After a tense few hours, the decision was made to change to a different kind of ventilator called an oscillator which makes her little chest vibrate. That made an immediate difference in how she was responding to all of her other treatments. Steve and I were then able to at least get a little sleep.
After a quick run home for showers and change of clothes this morning (and some loving for Jax & Jilly) we returned to the hospital to see that Saela continued to do well on the new ventilator. The staff had been able to start weaning down her O2 as well as one of the medicines that was helping to keep her blood pressure adequate.
Saela continues to do well this afternoon. At this point they will start weaning both of the blood pressure medications and they have her oxygen requirement down to 66% from 100% less than 12 hours ago. We are cautiously optimistic that she has finally turned the corner and will continue making forward progress instead of one step forward and two steps back. She will be on IV antibiotics for 10 days - so she will be here until at least next weekend. It's amazing how fast you lose track of time when you are not on a schedule. I had to ask somebody what the day was today. I would have failed a mental status question that I am asking other people all of the time.
The staff here has been fantastic. I cannot say enough good things about them - especially the team that helped us through last night. I think that is about all for now. We hope everyone is having a nice weekend - we will keep you updated!
Thanks again for all of your love and support!
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