Today we really learned the meaning of two steps forward, one step back. Baby Z was doing so well yesterday. His progress was amazing and so Dad and I went to the hospital with dreams of no ventilators and discharge papers in the near future. However, it was not to be. He is still on the mend and doing amazing but today was a much slower day. When we arrived his oxygen levels were back up in the low thirties, the pressures on the ventilator had been turned back up, he was back on a low dose of blood pressure medication, and although they tried they were unsuccessful in getting a Pic-line in. One step back. It was a bit disheartening. Our dreams were burst. But the step back was a small one, one Baby Z needed to recover, catch his breath (literally), and prepare to keep moving forward. And so tonight as I report the stats we are glad to see he is still moving forward. His chest tube was removed which meant he got to spend some good comfortable time on his belly. He was weened down 5 more units on the nitric oxide. His oxygen is at 27% and the pressures are coming down on the ventilators. The blood pressure medication is on and off depending on his needs but it is a low dose.
It was a long day for Mom and Dad. The day nurse over Baby Z did not instill confidence. We had planned on returning home for a few hours to gather supplies but Mom ended up spending the full 12 hours next to Baby Z. There were some blunders including a kinked IV line and a disconnection in the breathing tube that made Mom grateful for the promptings to stay close to Baby Z today. But it was exhausting. A huge sigh of relief was given when we found out the night shift was a pair of great nurses that had worked with Baby Z earlier this week and were wonderful. We are learning to be very grateful for good nurses that care and love for your child so you can go home and rest in peace. On that note Mom is going to do just that - rest in peace. Tomorrow is a new day with new steps to be made. Steps forward.
No comments:
Post a Comment