Will did very well again today. You wouldn't know by looking at him, by his tests or anything that he came so close yesterday. The doctor told us today that we were much closer to losing him than we thought, they usually only try to revive a baby for 15-20 minutes and it took them 15 minutes to bring him back. They have no idea why he went into cardiac arrest and no idea what brought him back. The doctor didn't think that the epinephrine, calcium or anything else they did was what made the difference, it seems to have been a miraculous recovery. There is a test they do to monitor kidney function as a way to check for possible oxygen depravation since the body will prioritize and send oxygen to the brain & lungs first - so if the kidneys show no sign of oxygen depravation odds are the brain and lungs had plenty and his kidneys are doing great.
They think it may have been a blood clot that formed in his leg, the reason his lower extremities had a dusky color a few days ago, and may have broken loose and traveled to his heart or lung, but there is no way to find out for sure. We're almost certain it had nothing to do with the extubation (removal of the ventilator) and using CPAP yesterday since his oxygen stats and things looked just fine and he was crying vigorously right before he coded. The doctor thinks he was in pain and that's why he was crying like that, and that seems to support the blood clot theory. So we have no way to know if this was a one-time incident or if we may face future problems, but we're very lucky he's okay. Time makes all memories fade, but I don't think it will ever fade for me having the doctors call me in to be with him, entering a room of quiet people watching us and laying hands on my son not knowing if we were saying goodbye, having the chaplain say a prayer over him and feeling the world crumbling. I can't imagine how it is for parents who face that situation and don't get the miraculous recovery we got.
On the bright side his weight is awesome! He's passed his birth weight by 1 oz, up to 2 lbs 12 oz today! He also got his first taste of colostrum (first milk), not enough to eat but enough to make a taste since there is a belief that some of the antibodies and good stuff can be absorbed through the gums/mouth. I expected him to make a sour face like most babies do around weaning time when trying new foods, but he just kept licking the roof of his mouth interestedly. Think that's a good sign. And I'm milking like a cow. Pumping every 2-3 hours and about half the time I'm producing close to a full bottle (60 ML) on each side. I actually just had to swap out and get a 2nd bottle for each because I'd filled them up, was a little late getting home so closer to 4 hours between. Swelling on my feet is less too.
Some more of my family is showing support, I've had a few offers to donate blood so hopefully we'll be able to find a donor for him. He is A positive I think, that's what one of the nurses said. Justin and several other family members need to find out their type and get testing. Running on sugar, adrenaline and sheer will power so I think I'm going to go collapse a while, I've been sleeping in bursts, having nightmares, waking up in a panic thinking something has happened to him. His poor nurses have to reassure me every couple hours when I call that he's just fine. I also ran out of my oxy codone or whatever it is, my good pain killer. I'm not in much pain, but my body aches so it's probably good I'm done with that I think I was starting to get addicted to it if I'm this achy not taking it. Still taking way too many medications but most are short-term things that once I finish the course I can stop. So not a bad day today overall, exhausted and stressed as usual but Will is doing well and that's all we really care about.
No comments:
Post a Comment