Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Tuesday Morning Update

We went to see Gaines last night around 8:00. We had planned for it to be a short visit. We were going to stay and get an update, talk to him, say a prayer and then get home to get some rest.

When we got to the NICU they had just measured Gaines' blood gases again and they looked high. The Doctor ordered a retest because the nurse had just suctioned him about five minutes before she took blood to measure the gases. They thought that the suctioning had probably agitated Gaines causing a false reading. We decided to stay.

They let Gaines rest for about 30 minutes and then took another blood gas reading. This second reading was down a little bit, but still high. The doctor ordered a chest x-ray to see if Gaines' "breathing" tube was in the right location. The chest x-ray revealed the tube was too high. The plan was to adjust the breathing tube and then re-intubate nasally in the morning (when an attending doctor was available). The doctors felt his tube was "moving" in part because Gaines is an active little guy. He is constantly moving his little arms and legs. Intubating him nasally would keep the "breathing" tube in place. The doctor told us they would recheck his blood gases around midnight and we were welcome to call and check to make sure they had gone down.

Brittany and I left the hospital around 10:00 and went home. I called around midnight and was told his gases didn't look any better and they were about to switch him from the oscillator to the ventilator. Thinks did not sound like they were going well. The doctor told us to call back in 20 minutes. Brittany and I were getting ready to go back to the hospital. I called the doctor back after 20 minutes of waiting and they had found a large mucus clot in Gaines' tube. They believe this clot was causing the false readings. Praise God!

I called this morning and found out that Gaines blood gases are more normal now, his sats are in the 90's and his oxygen is in the high 60's. He is not on any blood pressure medication anymore. His nitric oxide gas has also been decreased as well. Praise God for tiny miracles.

Brittany and I are going to visit this morning and will post an update later. Please continue to pray for Gaines.

Beau

10 comments:

sara blakeney said...

Praising God for that miracle and praying for continued growth and improvement. Thinking of you today and always!!
Sara Blakeney

Desha said...

Glad that they figured out what was going on with the readings. Praying for more good new this morning!
~Desha

Amanda said...

Praise God indeed! SO glad they discovered the clot before messing around with his equipment! And great news about DC'ing a med too! Hope you both slept well and that Brittany had a nice bath. You both deserve some real rest.

Marva said...

Praise the Lord! We are still praying from Alabama! Our twins went through so much of the same things. I read the post yesterday about Brittany's emotions and honey I cried cause I know how you feel. The NICU can be a life altering experience and you never forget it.

God is good, so good, ALL of the time and he has a plan! Keep your faces to him......you both are doing all of the right things! I admire you both so much!

Remember, "I can do all things through him which strengthens me." Phil. 4:13.........that got me through so many rough days.

Blessings!!

Avery Tales said...

So glad to hear that things are back in a normal range. You are in my heart and thoughts!

Kate said...

Those ups and downs can be so draining! I am so glad it was a simple fix. Prayers!

King J's Queen said...

Praise God for the continued improvement!

Kerrie said...

This is great news!! You have such an amazing, strong little fighter!! And very cute too, from the pictures I've seen so far :)

Stephanie said...

Thank goodness!!!! praying for a wonderful day!

Penni said...

Praises!