Saturday, August 12, 2006

Doing It His Way in the PICU



Well, it has been an adventurous few days in the PICU. Braden has taken us along on a rollercoaster ride... he would seem better, then get worse, then seem better, then get worse again. Probably our scariest moment was Friday afternoon he started having apnea, so the docs put him on Heliox (mix of helium & oxygen)... hoping that the helium would help open up the bronchioli and make things 'slippery' in his lungs, in hopes that it would loosen things up for suction, and allow him to do less work to breathe. Well, this had the opposite effect on Braden, as his oxygen saturation dipped, he was running a marathon to breathe, and was tiring out. We were literally 5 mintues away from intibating him before the doc put him back on plain oxygen where Braden seemed to breathe easier and get his saturation back up... but it was a close call. Our friends Dwayne and Kim took us to dinner to have a few hours of non-doctors/nurses/hospital air, and it was a well-needed emotional break.

THE FROG... when I was a young child, frogs used to scare me. One time my grandpa told me that frogs were good luck. While I don't know if he told me that to get me to quit screaming, or if there really is some myth or legend that frogs are good luck, I have believed in it ever since. This morning I went to the kitchen to let out a sream, as I was startled when a tree frog greeted me by jumping out of my sink straight at me!! I took it as a sign of good luck, as I told Brad the story my grandpa told me, and that I was hoping that this would be a sign we would have some good luck today.

We feel that we are turning a corner, as Braden was working less harder to breathe today, and was crying when we suctioned him, and was fussing because he was hungry - so we know he was feeling better:-) We got to start him back on a very slow feed today, to ensure he won't aspirate anymore, and at some point we will have to repeat the Upper GI to ensure the surgery we had done in the hospital (nissen fundiplication) is stil doing it's job. The pulmonologist believes Braden is micro-aspirating, and we will see him on an outpatient basis after we are discharged. He may be ordering more machines for us to use... yippee. Braden's blood culture finally showed that he in fact does have a pnuemonia called "serratia pnuemonia". It is easy to know if you have this kind of pnuemonia once the mucus starts coming out of the lungs, as when it is exposed to air, it turns blood red. The pulmonologist believes this happened because Braden is a poor swallower, cannot handle all his secretions, and could be microaspirating... added to the fact that we have a suppressed immune system, our scenario was ripe for such a disaster.

Thanks for everyone who has called or written to check in on us, we appreciate the support and your continued prayers. We will update again soon.

Kodi, Brad, & Braden

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Kodi, Brad and Braden,

Braden is such a strong little guy. He is proving to everyone that he is not done showing all of us his love for life. We all just need to keep as stong as Braden is. We know that all of those many prayers are laying a blanket over him that will continue to keep him on the path that the Lord has planned for him.


Comfort can come in many forms. God brought that wonderful little frog to you to remind you of it's meaning of being lucky. I have a feeling that little Braden will now have more than a few new Frogs in his life. Ribbitt.........

Love you much Braden. Brad and Kodi too!

Aunt Jeannie, Uncle Dave and kids.

Susanna said...

We are just glad to hear that Braden is doing so much better than he was a few days ago. Prayers have been answered! Good to see you two today, be strong!

Greg, Susanna and lil Miss

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much to Dwayne & Kim for taking mommy & daddy out for a spell.

I think Grandpa is letting you know that he is there with you via the frog! You are going to keep the frog for Braden to play with aren't you?

Love & hugs,
Gram

Anonymous said...

Oh Braden, Grandpa is sending you a sign. Kodi, way to be with it so that you were aware he was letting you know he is with you and watching over our little man.
Glad that things are at least perking up some. I cannot wait for you to get him home. I love you~ Aunt Shala & Cousin Paxton Lee