When T and I go up to visit, we really try to be drama-free. Our visit started out to be that way, but of course, Evan had to give us a little scare. His primary nurse Marianne was on duty so it was nice to have someone give us all the news without having to pry it out. On the days she isn't working, Evan will get some random nurse who isn't always the most forth-coming with info. Marianne had overheard the doctors say they may switch him over to the conventional respirator in a few days. Although the conventional respirator is a bit harsher on preemie lungs, it will give Evan more of a chance to breathe on his own. Right now, he is trying to breathe against that oscillating respirator and that is a hard thing to do. They have continued to turn down the amplitude on the oscillating respirator, so he isn't vibrating as badly anymore.
As for Evan giving us a scare...I had thought he had scratched his stomach since I saw a thin line of blood appear on his tummy. He had started to be fidgety again, so I thought he scratched himself with his right arm (his right arm has the art line and a catheter-like thing where they take blood from him). As we stood and watched him, we saw more blood appear on his stomach when he touched his right arm to his stomach and we figured out the blood was coming from the art line.
T told Marianne about it and she ended up getting the doctor on call to come take a look. Evan has had that art line since he got there, so the doctor ended up taking it out, cleaned up his right arm since it was covered in blood and planned on reinserting it later. They also use that art line to monitor his blood pressure, so they put this little blood pressure cuff on his leg to keep monitoring his levels. While the doctor was taking out the art line, Evan's heart rate went sky high (I think I saw it hit 190 at one point). The doctor wasn't too concerned since she said his oxygen saturation was still in the good range. After she was done fiddling with his arm, he calmed down a lot. They said Evan's vital signs are interesting...he'll have a big jump in his blood pressure, but his heart rate will stay normal, or his heart rate will shoot up and his blood pressure stays low. They aren't sure what is causing it, but it isn't something that is alarming them.
Tomorrow Evan will get another head ultrasound and chest x-ray. The head ultrasound will check again on the IVH areas in his brain...since the last result showed no change to those areas in his brain, they anticipate this one will show the same. The chest x-ray will reveal if his lungs have completely healed from that hemorrhage about 2 weeks ago. He is still getting breast milk feeds every 12 hours. So, things are starting to look up...the next stage will be moving him back to the conventional respirator. Hopefully more good news after tomorrow!
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UMC Charges: $6,738.00
Running Total: $193,567.49
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3 comments:
Hi Jen and T,
Babies heart rates are normal in the mid to upper 100's. If you monitor them when they are crying, they definitely hit 200. Try to take a deep breath every time you walk in there. The neonatal world is funky. Some nurses want NO interaction with the parents as weird as that sounds. That is why I never worked there. The nurses that work in there can have extremely controlling personalities, but that is good when dealing with all of the medications, pumps and equipt.
So if things seem out of hand, make an appt. to meet with whoever is the liasion to give them a list of your concerns. Your anxiety levels are going to flux up and down and they should have someone available to meet with you guys.
Love,
Sis
One more thing about arterial lines. They do become less reliable over time in reading accurate blood pressures, so maybe the new one will be more reflective of his BP. So many things can effect the readings guys. Evans blood volume status, movement, crying, position, etc... The key is the nurse monitoring the trends. Frequent trends of very low or very high pressures that don't appear associated with any other factors are what is important.
The tid bits of information that they give you or that you overhear can be maddening. You guys are trying to figure out what is important and what isn't. The best thing to do again is, if your anxiety level is increasing, get someone that can help you. Someone that can interpret the importance of what is being said. I don't care how much you read, look things up on the internet. Other peoples experiences are not yours and Evans. Don't waste your time trying to figure things out, it is THEIR job to educate you. Talk to you about short term issues, long term issues. Take it one day at a time. He is beautiful and nothing that has happened appears to be out of the ordinary for a premie. It is just out of the ordinary for you and all of us that love him.
Sis
Jen & T
I am still praying for you guys and little Evan everyday, I hope he continues getting better everyday, and that things go even better once they put him on the conventional respirator. I bet it is agravating for him to breathe againest the other one..I will be praying that the x rays of his head and chest are wonderful and clear..I am so glad he has been doing as well as he is doing..Keep the faith and you both have a good day..
Lynette edd 9.25.06(Nathan)
*friend from BBC Sept.06 Board..
@ I've been have some strong contractions today myself(32 wks)
hopefully they will stop..
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