Last night, the Nurse Practioner mentioned that the drainage in Caleb's chest tube was pretty slow and if he didn't have an increase overnight or during his morning walk, the chest tube may come out. The chest tubes are the goofy looking hoses that go through Caleb's chest wall and drain the space between his lungs and ribs. The look terribly painful (and I have heard they are more painful than the incision) and you are constantly worrying about tripping on them and ripping them out.
Caleb woke up again in the night and wanted to be snuggled. We ended up sleeping together in the recliner last night. It wasn't too bad, but it was not the most restful night.
Our nurse turned Caleb's oxygen off around 6:00 am this morning. We didn't remove the tape from this face, just to be safe (and deal with mom's and the nurse's superstitious nature).
When we got up this morning, there was no major increase in drainage, so we hurried up to get ready to go for our walk. When the kids get up and walking, sometimes pockets of fluid drain. We wanted to make sure that was not going to happen later in the day, after the chest tubes were removed. His oxygen levels were still great on room air, so we pulled the nasal cannula off, gathered the chest tubes and drainage box and hit the hallway. Caleb did great and at one point, I had to make him slow down because he wanted to run. I guess his pain is being well-controlled. When we got back from a good long walk - and partial jog, there was no increase in drainage.
Caleb's chest tubes and pacer wires were removed at 9:30 am. It was not as smooth as the last removal, but with the Versed and Morphine, it went ok. For those of you counting, this leaves a central line in his neck as the only remaining medical stuff. As soon as the tubes were out, I crawled into bed with him, snuggled with him and he quickly quit crying. He was still stoned so he kept trying to fold us into a sandwich in the hospital bed. Toddler boys love buttons that do stuff!
At 11:30 am, we went to have an echocardiogram of his heart and an EKG. There may be a spot where his Pulmonary Vein is narrowed as a result of the surgery and his re-plumbing, but I have not yet heard official word or seen a picture. At this point, I will not worry until I am told to do so. Of course, Caleb was thirsty after not being able to eat or drink for his chest tube removal, so he wanted milk. He threw up in the echocardiographer's office, but we caught it. I am getting pretty quick on the draw at this point.
When we got back, my dad and Diane were here. Within a period of 45 minutes, Caleb went from a sickly looking little boy with an upset stomach to a todder that ate half a grilled cheese and wanted to stand in the window and look for buses. The grilled cheese stayed down and we went to the playroom to play with Grandpa and Grandma.
Playing Rice with Grandma
Bowling with Grandpa
When Grandpa and Grandma left, Caleb and I laid down for a nap. We woke up about thirty minutes later when it was time for his pain medicine. We got up and went for another walk, took care of some laundry and played some more. Caleb ate a good dinner and we gave him a little bath. He was totally disgusting. He was covered in adhesive, dried blood, vomit, you name it. He smelled much better after the washing. We put on new jammies, pants and shoes and went to play some more. Around 9:00 pm, he fell asleep after eating half of my Lindor Truffles. Today was an excellent day!
Looking Good and Smelling Better
Way to go, Buddy!! So happy for all of you!!
ReplyDeleteWonderful news!! Joella
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