Big News!

Can you tell what has changed overnight?
That's right--they pulled his breathing tube!  Zachy is breathing on his own now with a little extra oxygen.  Overnight he slept fairly well, but towards morning he became more agitated and was given steroids to decrease the inflammation in his airway caused by the breathing tube.  He's a bit more swollen today, but soon Lasix (a diuretic) will be started to cut out the extra fluids.  Once he wakes we'll start offering him clear liquids as tolerated, and there are plans to pull his cardiac and arterial lines.  We may possibly be moved out of the ICU and onto the floor, but we'll see...

Zachy seems to be very sensitive to the morphine.  It causes him to itch and makes him an angry, crazy man!  So we're weaning him down on the morphine and will gradually switch to oral pain meds like oxycodone and Tylenol.  Just as long as they keep my baby comfortable...

Last night before we left Zachy was fairly responsive to our voices as he was waking.  Steve got down close to him and asked if he wanted to ride on a tractor, and Zachy nodded his head "yes."  And when I asked him "Where is your little man?"  He lifted first one index finger, and then another, pointing out where we had drawn little faces on his fingers prior to surgery.

It's not easy to see him when he gets agitated, kicking, trying to roll over, and cry and whimper hoarsely.  Overall, it seems his pain is under control for the most part, but he doesn't look incredibly comfortable, either.  I'm looking forward to holding him and giving him mommy love, hopefully later today once he sheds some of his tubes.

Comments

  1. StefenieJuly 1, 2010 at 6:00 AM

    Glad to see that Zachy has the breathing tube out. That is always a big step! Keep chugging along little buddy! Praying for all of you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. The mom of 4 monkeys!July 1, 2010 at 6:26 AM

    Yay, that is a huge step!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. DanielleJuly 1, 2010 at 6:48 AM

    So, so glad to hear that Zachy is doing so well. He seems to be the star patient there at U of M! Prayers for a continued uneventful post op!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Carolina CartersJuly 1, 2010 at 6:51 AM

    Way to go Zach!

    Still praying!

    ReplyDelete
  5. MiriamJuly 1, 2010 at 6:58 AM

    WOO HOO! That is completely awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  6. ShannonLeidekerJuly 1, 2010 at 10:24 AM

    What a little fighter!! Zach is amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Erika MarieJuly 1, 2010 at 1:03 PM

    That's great! That's too bad about the itching though I hope they can resolve that for him soon but at least that's the least of the worries for now!

    ReplyDelete

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