03/29/2007

So with all the excitement here of late I wanted to update everyone real quick... At 1 p.m. we will be 48 hours off the vent. There was little at rounds except that they have now decided to to not do twice-a-day blood gases on Emery and they are only going to do vital signs on him once or twice a day.. he doesn't need to get daily chest x-rays as long as he is oxygenating well and blood gases are okay. They are keeping the same dose of steroids for a few more days and then weaning slowly. They just said it's time to stop bugging him all of the time. His weight has been up and down, but the official is 6 pounds. I thought he was more but with the steroids he has gotten rid of a LOT of fluid and is breathing easy. The nurse wanted to get a crib in the room but I asked her not to just yet, but soon. If he tolerates the steroid wean and does well and grows well then it's time for a crib. I also asked the doctor if his CO2 levels would go down over time, and he said that Emery might actually come home with CO2 levels in the 70s. Yikes! Let's just say that we can officially see the top of the mountain. We might fall back down a bit still... but 100 days is a long climb! Oh, and some of you might remember me talking about Emery's long-timer buddy who got moved over to bay 2? She was the baby who had been there as long as Emery? Anyway, we saw her mom and dad last night and they get to take their baby home Saturday! They've been there 124 day. I was actually happy for them and not sad! Okay, everyone go to work now :)