Caleb has been doing well since coming back from surgery. His blood pressure was low, so they had to give him some extra liquid to bring his blood volume back up. They gave him saline and then some albumin. His heart is a little angry and has required some pacing with the pacemaker. This is an external pacemaker that they always place for this type of surgery. His magnesium and bicarb were a little low, but both came back where they belonged with some medicines. All of this stuff is totally expected and is just part of the process. Overall, they are happy with where he is at, so I am happy.
Around 8:30, they were able to take Caleb off the respirator. This is huge because now he is breathing on his own, there is no tube in his throat and best of all, he can suck his pacifier. Life is good. He is doing great keeping his oxygen saturations in the 90's with very little oxygen so far.
He is very thirsty, but he is scheduled to be able to have clear liquids at 11:30 pm. He is sleeping most of the time, so hopefully the time will pass quickly for him. The hospital has spongy swabs that you put water on
that are used for mouth and lip care. Caleb is sucking the water out of the sponges and asking for more.
As far as I can tell, he is understanding what we say and is still our Caleb. I always worry about stroke or damage from all of the screwing we are doing with him, but everything seems to be good. At one point, he was biting down on the ventilator tube. I asked him to open his mouth and he did. I had to tell him he could close it back up because he kept it open. He understands and is obedient!
For this surgery, it is all about getting rid of tubes and lines. Right now, he has gotten rid of the ventilator tube and still has the following stuff left:
- A central line in his foot
- An arterial line in his neck
- Two peripheral IV's
- Three chest tubes
- A nasal cannula for oxygen
Here is a nice covered up picture so you can see his handsome face. This was before the breathing tube was removed:
Thanks again for all of your thoughts and prayers today. We are so thankful that we have such great support and that things have gone so well to this point!
Thank you for all of the updates today. I love seeing the pictures and I keep sharing them with my co-workers. You are such a great mom and Caleb is very lucky to have you. You are always going above and beyond to make sure that he is getting the proper care. Our mom would be so proud of you...I know I am! We love you both.
ReplyDelete- Sarah
So glad to hear things are going well :)
ReplyDeleteI am so happy things are going good. Thanks for the updates and the cute pictures. What a strong young man ( not baby ) he is, and what a strong mommy you are.
ReplyDeleteLindsey
He looks great so glad he is doing so good what a little fighter..........we will continue to pray that everything goes well
ReplyDeletePraise God that all signs are pointing to success. What a trooper.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your updates! We've posted the link to your blog on the church FB pages for anyone that checks it.
ReplyDeleteSo glad things are moving along well.Joella
Thank you so much for all the updates. Nothing is going to slow down our little trooper. Thanks and prayers are continuing for Doctors, Caleb and your whole family.
ReplyDelete