Brandon before surgeryYesterday was Amy’s birthday. She didn’t get much of a chance to celebrate. The boys helped pick a cake out but we still haven’t had a chance to eat any.
I will start with the bad news. Over the ast couple of days Brandon has done really poorly. Every time they tried to wean him from the ventilator he ended doing worse and they had to increase his settings. They had to move him to the oscillator, a ventilator they typically use on more serious cases. He even got to a point where they were giving him the maximum support. Even with the maximum support he wasn’t breathing well.
One of the ways they check to see how well he is breathing is to draw blood and check the gasses in his blood. Brandon’s Carbon monoxide level was really high. This means that he isn’t exhaling like he should. If it isn’t exhaled it acts like a poison. His “blood gasses” continued to get worse. They began checking them every hour.
His stomach was rather distended and it was putting pressure on his lungs. He was in quite a bit of pain and was requiring a lot of pain medication. They figured out that he had an infection. They can see that he has an infection because of the way his white blood cells are acting even before they know what the infection is.
Brandon’s condition was very serious and it was very hard for us to deal with emotionally. We have seen him in a very bad situation but it felt like we had fallen so far back. Everything seemed to be deteriorating with Brandon on the Same day we were taking Katelyn home. A couple of days after the surgery we were talking to the surgeon and he told us that his reconnection surgery was one of the more difficult surgeries he had done, and he is very experienced. They difficulty came because the two section he was connecting were very different sizes. Almost 5 to 1. This made the reconnect very hard. He also had to spend a lot of time removing scar tissue.
Even with the infection and respiratory problems Brandon was showing good signs of recovery from his surgery. His stomach began to retract and become softer and the biggest good news is that he passed gas. This means that his bowls are beginning to work and that the passage way is clear. The good news is that today things are looking better. His blood gas has improved. And they actually have been able to reduce the settings on his ventilator. Even with this good news it is hard to se our baby who was very happy and interactive a few days ago in the state he is in.
On to the good news. … Katelyn is home! Amy spent most of the nights last week at the hospital and I spent the last two nights there. The last two nights they put us in a room by ourselves and we took care of Katelyn as thought we were at home.
It took a little longer than we had planned to get her out of there but the good thing is that the extra day allowed her to get a shot that helps prevent RSV. Seeing Brandon’s reaction to an infection just reminds us how sensitive they will both be when they are home. The doctor stressed that we will need to keep them away from people for six moths to make sure they aren’t exposed. A simple sickness could be devastating for them.
Katelyn was sent home on oxygen and with a monitor that makes sure she is breathing and her heart is beating. I thought I would be more paranoid when we brought her home with this equipment but it actually works out well. We have a couple of portable oxygen tanks so we can make trips to the doctor. We also have a big tank that will last for weeks. It sits in a central location in our house and it has 57 feet worth of tubing. This way we can reach most areas in our house.
Having Katelyn home and Brandon in the hospital will present a new set of challenge but we are so happy to have Katelyn home. It feels like we can actual begin taking care of our three month old baby. (102 days in the NICU.)
I will start with the bad news. Over the ast couple of days Brandon has done really poorly. Every time they tried to wean him from the ventilator he ended doing worse and they had to increase his settings. They had to move him to the oscillator, a ventilator they typically use on more serious cases. He even got to a point where they were giving him the maximum support. Even with the maximum support he wasn’t breathing well.
One of the ways they check to see how well he is breathing is to draw blood and check the gasses in his blood. Brandon’s Carbon monoxide level was really high. This means that he isn’t exhaling like he should. If it isn’t exhaled it acts like a poison. His “blood gasses” continued to get worse. They began checking them every hour.
His stomach was rather distended and it was putting pressure on his lungs. He was in quite a bit of pain and was requiring a lot of pain medication. They figured out that he had an infection. They can see that he has an infection because of the way his white blood cells are acting even before they know what the infection is.
Brandon’s condition was very serious and it was very hard for us to deal with emotionally. We have seen him in a very bad situation but it felt like we had fallen so far back. Everything seemed to be deteriorating with Brandon on the Same day we were taking Katelyn home. A couple of days after the surgery we were talking to the surgeon and he told us that his reconnection surgery was one of the more difficult surgeries he had done, and he is very experienced. They difficulty came because the two section he was connecting were very different sizes. Almost 5 to 1. This made the reconnect very hard. He also had to spend a lot of time removing scar tissue.
Even with the infection and respiratory problems Brandon was showing good signs of recovery from his surgery. His stomach began to retract and become softer and the biggest good news is that he passed gas. This means that his bowls are beginning to work and that the passage way is clear. The good news is that today things are looking better. His blood gas has improved. And they actually have been able to reduce the settings on his ventilator. Even with this good news it is hard to se our baby who was very happy and interactive a few days ago in the state he is in.
On to the good news. … Katelyn is home! Amy spent most of the nights last week at the hospital and I spent the last two nights there. The last two nights they put us in a room by ourselves and we took care of Katelyn as thought we were at home.
It took a little longer than we had planned to get her out of there but the good thing is that the extra day allowed her to get a shot that helps prevent RSV. Seeing Brandon’s reaction to an infection just reminds us how sensitive they will both be when they are home. The doctor stressed that we will need to keep them away from people for six moths to make sure they aren’t exposed. A simple sickness could be devastating for them.
Katelyn was sent home on oxygen and with a monitor that makes sure she is breathing and her heart is beating. I thought I would be more paranoid when we brought her home with this equipment but it actually works out well. We have a couple of portable oxygen tanks so we can make trips to the doctor. We also have a big tank that will last for weeks. It sits in a central location in our house and it has 57 feet worth of tubing. This way we can reach most areas in our house.
Having Katelyn home and Brandon in the hospital will present a new set of challenge but we are so happy to have Katelyn home. It feels like we can actual begin taking care of our three month old baby. (102 days in the NICU.)
1 comment:
I hope you don't mind me commenting on your blog...Sis. Palmer told us about your blog today in Relief Society and I wanted to see how adorable your new babies are. They are so sweet! I can't believe all you have gone through! We will definitely keep you and your sweet family in our prayers.
--Dacia and Joe Brewer
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