Much better weather day in Tucson! I managed to drive home before the storms hit today! Here's a pic of Evan's new digs in pod 3. He has a nice view of the Catalina Mountains (and a great view of the Air-Evac Helicopter as is arrives). He is still wrapped up comfy like a burrito, actually today, it looked more like a straight-jacket since they used a pillow case folded longways. :-)
You can see he has a little tent over his face to keep it dark. We put some socks on his feet to keep him from kicking off his dressings. I was happy to hear that they only draw blood from his left foot every 12 hours now to check his blood gases. Since they could only draw blood from his left foot, the bottom of his foot looks a mess with all the little cuts. They use a device similar to what diabetics use to draw blood for their tests, but after a while, there's no more new places to stick on his little foot. His right foot is still healing slowly from that bi-carb burn.
His primary nurse, Marianne, was back on shift today. Today was the first time she has seen Evan since they moved him into the crib and put him on the CPAP. We tag-teamed and gave the little guy a bath (finally). Marianne held him with the oxygen mask while I washed his hair. He totally zoned-out with a smile on his face while I was doing it, so hopefully it made him feel better. He didn't fuss at all when we finished and went right back into his deep sleep-mode.
The attending physician (Dr. Cahan) stopped by and she was happy to report how well he is doing. I asked her if he would be on the CPAP for about a week more. She said she thinks he'll only be on it a matter of days now, but she doesn't want to rush it. So, hopefully, maybe, by this weekend he'll just be on the nasal cannula. Marianne said that when she does all his "cares" (that's when she changes out IV lines, diaper change, draws blood, feeds him, etc...) she has taken him briefly off the CPAP, and she notices he breathes well on his own (but he still has a bit of retracting). Retracting is when he sucks in his chest really deeply during a breath.
He still gets his respiratory therapy every 6 hours. He has been getting albuterol inhalant therapy, which the RT says is helping him a lot. He also gets his few minutes of percussion treatment on his back. He didn't fuss and cry at all when she did it this time. Afterwards, they have a lot of stuff to suction out of his mouth, and that's a good thing. He did cough a few times, which is also a good sign. So, with all this therapy, he should be progessing along just fine.
Tomorrow I am taking a break from the hospital and catching up on things at home. I'll call the hospital to get an update and will still post tomorrow.
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UMC Charges: $6,693.85
Running Total: $244,894.89
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