Caiden Recovery Update

Tuesday was a long day in the PICU.  The nurse reported that Caiden only ate 2 oz. for her.  When Jennifer fed him he ate 8 1/2 oz. and when I fed him he ate 6 oz.  He eats better on a schedule.  It also helps that we have time to spend feeding him.  We are there for about 10 hours a day and do all of his care except for the machines.  The nurse that is assigned to him spends SO much time with the little baby girl next door that she has little time to spend with him which is why it is good that we are there.  Pray for that baby girl, she is waiting for a liver transplant.


Caiden continued to de-sat many times today.  (a little too low of o2) and would make his machine go off.  The nurse decided to put him back on 8 liters of oxygen. That is a very low amount, but it kept him in the range that they want him in. They took an x-ray Tuesday evening just to take a look at his lungs and said they look like they did the evening of the surgery.  The right lung is a little collapsed.  That sounds scary, but it isn't a flattened lung like it sounds, but has pockets in his lung that are a little collapsed.  That is common after surgery because of the anesthetic.  That is why he needs that added 8 liters of o2 that he doesn't usually need at home.  The added o2, and sitting up, and movement should clear all that up.  We wish we would have known that all day and we could have been working with him more.  At least once we finally got an explanation it made it all make sense.

When his night nurse came on we told her how much he had eaten for us and told her that if she doesn't take the time with him to feed him that she will be reporting to the Dr. that he only took 2 oz and that isn't fair to him or us.  She promised that she would get someone else to take care of the little girl next door when it is time for him to eat.  Pray that she does. Sometimes he needs to be coaxed, but he will eat.  He is so low maintenance, but he does need some every 3 hours.

Terry