Joshua is still about the same as yesterday. He is still on the vent and they are still working to find the correct combination of things to ease the work of his heart. Putting in the stint allowed more blood to flow thru his aortic arch and now he is having pulmonary hypertension. (more blood going out to his body and less into his lungs) Because of this compromised pulmonary flow he has experienced some minor collapse of his lungs. They do a little "pounding" therapy with an external vibrator to help open up his lungs and loosen up the goop so it can be sucked out. He actually likes this sensation. His blood gases are getting a little better. They also started him on some NO2 (Nitrogen dioxide) to help open up his lungs. Right now it is all a fine balancing act to figure out what he needs. He is back on viral precautions (gown, gloves and masks) even though he hasn't grown any of the well known viruses. He certainly has something. This same something has also hit the home front. All of the kids and grandparents staying with them are sick. :-(
Joshua is really congested and we are hoping that it will clear up real soon. He has had to be sedated, quite heavily today. He has been thrashing around and had to be constrained. I think that upset him more. I asked a few times how much they had given him because he was certainly not acting like he had been given anything. They are probably going to have to put him on a drip tonight because he is acting like a little toughie. He wants to be awake and moving all about.
So in a nutshell not too many major changes. We hope to see some improvements tomorrow so that we know he is going in the right direction. (towards healthy, happy and home)
I am still fighting with that stupid video. I think I am going to have to load it into youtube and link to it. I have never done that before, but will work on it again tomorrow. I am going to take advantage of the down time and get a little sleep.
Goodnight,
Leah
