Monday, October 4, 2010

Monday, October 4, 2010


The Boys

Because Caleb was not scheduled for his heart catheterization today, I went to the office to pay some bills and print off some stuff I needed for the projects I am working on. I tried not to feel guilty by telling myself that by spending some extra time away this morning, I would be able to spend the rest of the week with him. We are lucky that I can do some work at his bedside and do not have to leave him right now to go back to work.

As I was on my way back to Ann Arbor, I got a phone call from the hospital saying that they were going to do the heart catheterization today, as soon as it was possible. I gave them my consent over the phone and picked up speed, hoping to make it to the hospital in time to hold him and tell him we love him before the procedure. After all the twists and turns we have experienced, we never assume that things will turn out as expected.

I made it to his room with about ten minutes to spare. I got to hold him for a few minutes and take care of the necessary business. I was very relieved that I had made it.

After Caleb went off to the cath lab, I got caught up on what happened since last night's report. He did not need any morphine. He was fussy, but with a pacifier and a volunteer holding him, he made it through. That is the tricky part about a fussy baby with a heart condition. Some of the time, holding him will solve the problem. However, when the nurses have more than one baby to tend to, they can't hold your baby all of the time. Caleb's heart rate increases and his blood oxygen levels decrease when he gets too agitated, so they give him morphine to calm him. We can't stay at the hospital all the time (especially if we are looking at two more months of this), because there is no place for us to sleep. Hopefully, someone can convince him that if he would get well enough to go home, he could have all of the holding he wants with no drug intervention.

The preliminary information from the catheterization is that the shunt is too big. This is in line with what the nurse practioner and the two cardiologists that have followed him in Moderate Care think. Tomorrow, the surgeon will start reviewing everything and pow-wow with everyone to determine our plan of action.

As I was getting ready to write this blog back at the hotel, I got a call from the hospital. After I left, Caleb began bleeding from the artery where the catheterization was performed. Luckily, the nurse caught it, but he had lost a decent amount of blood. They gave him blood, albumen and saline to bring his blood volume back up. His oxygen saturations are good now and his blood pressure is rising back to where it should be. This is one of the risks that they mention is possible but doesn't happen very often. The fact that he had this complication is the reason that I felt the desperate need to get back to hold him before the procedure. It seems that Caleb rarely misses an opportunity to scare us.

4 comments:

  1. You're reports are so helpful to us. We are watching and waiting until the good days, growth steady and missteps few are the ordinary. Bless you and all that are educated in these very specific body functions. Whew! It makes one more aware of the complexity of our makeup. Prayers ongoing.

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  2. Precious picture of the "the boys" Thanks for the updates. Prayers continue for your family and hospital staff.

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  3. We look forward each day to hear from you. Thank you so much. The pictures are beautiful and so precious and meaningful. It makes us realize that we are so blessed with our health and not to take things for granted. Prayers never cease for Caleb, your family and the Drs. Love, G. Pat

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  4. Jen, we are all concerned about Caleb, but I'm even more concerned about you and Phil and your stress level! I don't know how you keep it all together day after day. God has given you great strength and superb mothering skills.
    Love, Aunt Marie

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