June 10, 2008

6 more days...

...until we get the ventilator tube out. Max is doing pretty well, but the poor little guy is on a verced and morphine drip to keep him sedated. He seems to be pretty comfortable- maybe a little too comfortable. When he gets mad or upset about something he drops his heart rate and oxygen saturation rates down VERY low (in the teens). They have had to bag him a few times to get them back up. He is not able to tell us that he is upset by crying or even making faces so he holds his breath which is causing the decels. They are not worried about it, but he has scared mommy and daddy quite a bit while we were there.

The doctors will be removing a small drainage tube that is in the neck incision today and it looks like next Monday they will be doing another scope to see if everything is healing correctly and hopefully be removing the vent. It is so hard to see him like this, but we know that it is what needs to be done to be sure that everything stays where it needs to be and heals correctly.

They have continued to give him his normal about of breastmilk through a pump that gives him 21 mL an hour. They are fortifing it to give him some extra calories as well. Sunday nights weight was 7 pounds 12 ounces, BUT we think this could be because of him holding onto a lot of fluids from the surgery. We'll get a better idea of his weight when he comes off of the IV fluids.

Other than that, he is doing well. We are waiting to get him back to how he was last Thursday. It's hard not being able to hold him and we try not to touch him too much because he tries to move around when we do. It's going to be a long 6 days, but hopefully the procedure is successful and we can move forward.

Thanks for all of the prayers!

Beth, Tim and Max

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thinking of you guys and Max. I know it is long and stressful but hang in there. Max is a true fighter. After reading about him needing a transplant and this other blog that I follow I have decided to become an organ donor.

Take Care!
Denise
Matilda&Leon

Rachael Schirano \\ Rachael Schirano Photography said...

i know this is a rather difficult journey, so hang in there. i am thinking about you guys and praying for little max every single day.

Anonymous said...

I am good friends with Jessica & Chris Wells, and so I have been following Max's story for months. I cannot imagine how difficult this must be for you and your brand new baby - but with all of the prayers and support, I know you will get through this! Thinking of you daily :-)