Ethan just got discharged from hospital! :) I will be heading out shortly to go pick him up.
He was off monitors and has had his IV out for a few days now. We were just working up his feeds and he needed the smallest whiffs of oxygen at night. Last night was his first night without any oxygen! :)
Happy Valentine's Day! Great gift for your family Ethan!
Saturday, February 14, 2015
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
The Road to Recovery
Ethan is now well on his way to recovery. He was moved from critical care to the pediatric floor yesterday, is able to go on just 0.5 litres of oxygen without issue and had his chest tube taken out this evening. How amazing is that from a week ago?
They tried to clamp the tube for removal yesterday but the pneumothorax in his upper right lobe had grown a bit when we challenged him so they unclamped everything and decided to leave it in another day.
It is kind of funny the emotional rollercoaster you ride during times like this.
I was sick over the weekend and had to go home to take care of myself. When I saw him yesterday morning I was taken aback by how thin he looks. It's not like Ethan was in need of losing any weight to begin with but his bones just seem more predominant then before. Then he failed the first challenge with the chest tube, has a really sore bottom from the antibiotics and last night when he finally fell asleep it was into a super deep sleep where his heart rate kept causing the monitors to alarm for at least the first few hours. He just seemed so frail to me. It isn't often I feel this way about Ethan and I have to say it is good to have Clayton be the rock for me. He said how strong Ethan is and that he would bounce back. In my heart I know this it is just when he is in such a vulnerable time that it is hard to see past all the tubes, and monitors and challenges.
Then we welcomed in today and the new gains he's made. He is getting his full calories now and we're working to increase the rate so he isn't feeding all day long. Ethan is quite well known at our hospital, just about everyone I saw today said to me that it's been a long time since they've seen him. It is good, it is true, he's amazing!
It is so hard to believe my amazing little boy will be 7 tomorrow! Happy Birthday sweetie, we look forward to celebrating with you tomorrow and for all the tomorrows that follow, may they be more then I could dream to count!
They tried to clamp the tube for removal yesterday but the pneumothorax in his upper right lobe had grown a bit when we challenged him so they unclamped everything and decided to leave it in another day.
It is kind of funny the emotional rollercoaster you ride during times like this.
I was sick over the weekend and had to go home to take care of myself. When I saw him yesterday morning I was taken aback by how thin he looks. It's not like Ethan was in need of losing any weight to begin with but his bones just seem more predominant then before. Then he failed the first challenge with the chest tube, has a really sore bottom from the antibiotics and last night when he finally fell asleep it was into a super deep sleep where his heart rate kept causing the monitors to alarm for at least the first few hours. He just seemed so frail to me. It isn't often I feel this way about Ethan and I have to say it is good to have Clayton be the rock for me. He said how strong Ethan is and that he would bounce back. In my heart I know this it is just when he is in such a vulnerable time that it is hard to see past all the tubes, and monitors and challenges.
Then we welcomed in today and the new gains he's made. He is getting his full calories now and we're working to increase the rate so he isn't feeding all day long. Ethan is quite well known at our hospital, just about everyone I saw today said to me that it's been a long time since they've seen him. It is good, it is true, he's amazing!
It is so hard to believe my amazing little boy will be 7 tomorrow! Happy Birthday sweetie, we look forward to celebrating with you tomorrow and for all the tomorrows that follow, may they be more then I could dream to count!
Taken this afternoon, you can see his chest monitor, nasal prongs, IV...and that he is in need of a haircut! It was all kind of swooshed up and back today, very cute!
Friday, February 6, 2015
In Hospital
Ethan has been doing really well lately, but caught himself Influenza A recently and it is just too strong for him to beat at home. We managed for about a week at home, including a trip to the doctor for antibiotics. After we finished the course of antibiotics, he was still not well - working harder to breathe, throwing up anytime we tried to give him any of his formula and pretty lethargic so we brought him back to the doctor...who suggested we bring him to our children's emergency room.
That was Tuesday night, we've since been admitted to the critical care unit and he is getting high-flow oxygen delivered by nasal prongs. He was somewhat improved yesterday playing and smiling with me.
Then things went downhill. He became more lethargic and his oxygen requirements became increased and to say he was irritable is to put it mildly! I had left for a quick shower - felt good to wash off some of the grime of being in hospital - and when I returned he was really working hard to breathe, they had his oxygen set up to 100%, he was in rough shape and they were talking about intubating him.
After a chest x-ray it was found he had a significant pneumothorax or as they referred to it, pneumo. Say what?! Pneumo like pneumonia? Nope! Like in a leak in the lung causing air to build up between his lung and ribs. Sure explained his disposition though! Surprisingly his x-ray was textbook imaging of a pneumo...but in true Ethan style his presentation was anything but! Typically you do not hear lung sounds when this occurs, especially when it is as significant as his was. The treatment for a significant pneumo is to put a tube into the cavity between the lung and ribcage to vent out the air (which if it continues to grow can crush against the organs as it continues to build). The doctor who did the procedure did extra imaging to be sure the x-ray was correct!
Thanks to the attentiveness of his nurse, the nurse supervisor (who was his nurse the night before) the resident and rapid response of his doctor, they were able to deal with it relatively quickly. Although the tube is still in, the procedure was very successful. His oxygen needs have greatly decreased, he is working less to breathe and is improving. Apparently it can be pretty painful though and that seems to cause him a lot of discomfort. With sufficient pain meds he has been in a wakeful state all afternoon and even making vocalizations, smiling and playing with his hand again! :) Here's hoping he has a good night!
It has been almost two years since his last bad respiratory illness that saw us spend 11 days in critical care and another 6 days recovering on the pediatric wing.
That was Tuesday night, we've since been admitted to the critical care unit and he is getting high-flow oxygen delivered by nasal prongs. He was somewhat improved yesterday playing and smiling with me.
Then things went downhill. He became more lethargic and his oxygen requirements became increased and to say he was irritable is to put it mildly! I had left for a quick shower - felt good to wash off some of the grime of being in hospital - and when I returned he was really working hard to breathe, they had his oxygen set up to 100%, he was in rough shape and they were talking about intubating him.
After a chest x-ray it was found he had a significant pneumothorax or as they referred to it, pneumo. Say what?! Pneumo like pneumonia? Nope! Like in a leak in the lung causing air to build up between his lung and ribs. Sure explained his disposition though! Surprisingly his x-ray was textbook imaging of a pneumo...but in true Ethan style his presentation was anything but! Typically you do not hear lung sounds when this occurs, especially when it is as significant as his was. The treatment for a significant pneumo is to put a tube into the cavity between the lung and ribcage to vent out the air (which if it continues to grow can crush against the organs as it continues to build). The doctor who did the procedure did extra imaging to be sure the x-ray was correct!
Thanks to the attentiveness of his nurse, the nurse supervisor (who was his nurse the night before) the resident and rapid response of his doctor, they were able to deal with it relatively quickly. Although the tube is still in, the procedure was very successful. His oxygen needs have greatly decreased, he is working less to breathe and is improving. Apparently it can be pretty painful though and that seems to cause him a lot of discomfort. With sufficient pain meds he has been in a wakeful state all afternoon and even making vocalizations, smiling and playing with his hand again! :) Here's hoping he has a good night!
It has been almost two years since his last bad respiratory illness that saw us spend 11 days in critical care and another 6 days recovering on the pediatric wing.
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