Our
Story
Day 7 --
07/26/04
6:00 AM:
I talked with Maggie, Josh's nurse, and she said that he had a really good
night. He had one low blood gas, so they took him back up to 25 on his
respirator rate, but his oxygen is at 26-27%, so things look pretty good.
His vitals are good, and his temperature was good. She said that he had a
very peaceful/calm night, and that he rested very well.
1:00 PM:
Lou Ann said that Joshua is doing well...all his numbers are holding pretty
well. We met with the physical therapist this morning. She seems to
think that Josh's foot is easily "fixable" with PT...we're meeting with her
again tomorrow morning to learn what to do to help with his therapy (to learn
how to manipulate his foot and leg to exercise it properly).
10:00 PM:
This was my first solo trip to see Joshua Ryan (Chris worked tonight). It
went OK...all his numbers
are still holding steady, with the respirator at 25
and his oxygen around 30-32%. Raquel (his night nurse) said that the
alarms keep going off on his oxygen saturation, but he usually brings himself
back up...she tries not to "chase" him with the oxygen because the constant up
and down can be bad for the blood vessels in his eyes (changes in pressure can
cause constrictions in the blood vessels and damage to the eyes). While I
was there, his oxygen level dropped and the alarms went off...he didn't rebound
quickly, so the respiratory therapist who was there turned his level up some and
he went ahead and suctioned him (he was due pretty soon)...he got a pretty good
amount of yellowish "crud" on the first suction, and Josh's levels rebounded
pretty quickly, so he was probably just having a hard time breathing through the
buildup in his lungs. After he was suctioned, Raquel turned him and sucked
the excess saliva out of his mouth, and by the time I left, he was back at 32%
oxygen. He also calmed down a little and seemed to be resting easier.
Still had some moments of stretching and activity, but overall seemed to be more
comfortable. Raquel seems to think that his final umbilical line should be
out soon (within the next several days)...then he should be able to start
eating!!! The "official" word on the PDA is that it appears to be closed,
except for a glimpse of it right at the beginning or end of the echo. This
indicates that it is either closed, or is so close to being closed that we're in
good shape for now. At this point, he shouldn't need more medicine for it.
They'll probably do another echo a little down the road, but for the time being,
they're considering it as if the medicine worked! He weighed 2 pounds, 8
ounces tonight.
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are still holding steady, with the respirator at 25
and his oxygen around 30-32%. Raquel (his night nurse) said that the
alarms keep going off on his oxygen saturation, but he usually brings himself
back up...she tries not to "chase" him with the oxygen because the constant up
and down can be bad for the blood vessels in his eyes (changes in pressure can
cause constrictions in the blood vessels and damage to the eyes). While I
was there, his oxygen level dropped and the alarms went off...he didn't rebound
quickly, so the respiratory therapist who was there turned his level up some and
he went ahead and suctioned him (he was due pretty soon)...he got a pretty good
amount of yellowish "crud" on the first suction, and Josh's levels rebounded
pretty quickly, so he was probably just having a hard time breathing through the
buildup in his lungs. After he was suctioned, Raquel turned him and sucked
the excess saliva out of his mouth, and by the time I left, he was back at 32%
oxygen. He also calmed down a little and seemed to be resting easier.
Still had some moments of stretching and activity, but overall seemed to be more
comfortable. Raquel seems to think that his final umbilical line should be
out soon (within the next several days)...then he should be able to start
eating!!! The "official" word on the PDA is that it appears to be closed,
except for a glimpse of it right at the beginning or end of the echo. This
indicates that it is either closed, or is so close to being closed that we're in
good shape for now. At this point, he shouldn't need more medicine for it.
They'll probably do another echo a little down the road, but for the time being,
they're considering it as if the medicine worked! He weighed 2 pounds, 8
ounces tonight.