Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Caleb had a rough early morning. He was very agitated and could not be calmed. The nurse tried his pain medication and that had no effect. They tried rocking him and snuggling him and that did not work. They gave him a dose of morphine and he settled down. He ended up sleeping peacefully from 7 am to 11 am. They are wondering if he is having some withdrawl from his morphine/methadone so they are going to work on weaning him more slowly. It made me feel really good that they tried rocking and snuggling!

I held Caleb from when he woke up to when I had to leave the hospital. I came home this afternoon to help Phil out. He has been really busy this week, so I came home for the afternoon and will head back to Ann Arbor tomorrow morning.

Caleb was having trouble keeping the nasal cannula where it belonged again, so when they weaned from 4 liters to 3 liters this morning, he didn't change a bit. It does make it easier to wean when you don't use your support properly.

The Nurse Practioner called me this afternoon to give me an update on Caleb before she left the hospital. Caleb had another SVT episode (where his heart rate goes very high) this afternoon, but he got himself out of it without any assistance. Hopefully, he is content with just one episode.

They are going to put Caleb on another medication to help his heart pump more effectively with each contraction. They said that this is pretty common for single ventricle patients.

I spoke with the Pediatric Cardiologist today and he said that Caleb is a "difficult case". I am still working on figuring out the exact issues and what will and won't affect his future health. I think I need to sit down with the cardiologist or nurse practioner and make sure I understand. We still have not had any real discussions of time until we go home or time until the second surgery. For now, we will take it one day at a time!

1 comment:

  1. You have PLENTY of difficult things you have to do at this time in your life. Unfotunately, they include waiting & not knowing for certain. I imagine in a place where they handle such delicate problems, the Drs are VERY cautious in giving out time frames. Each precious baby & their case are different. They don't want to get hopes up only to be let down. Their medical knowledge & expertise may go light years beyond what we know; but they have their limits. We parents & grandparents have feelings & are anxious to KNOW... Don't quit asking questions, just remember they are only human & may not be able to give you answers you want as soon as you'd like to have them. Jen, you are wise in taking it one day at a time. God grant you serenity & peace in this part of your journey in life. Hugs :o)

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