Just another day in the PICU

Matthew slept well last night. This mamma did too, relatively speaking. Around 5 pm last night Matthew starting coughing really hard and he coughed the tube out and vomited all in one fell swoop. There were a few long minutes of organized chaos around his bed; especially since we had just "fed" him his first meal in his G-button but an hour earlier. There was alot of formula in his tube and the concern is that he may have aspirated some of his formula. That would not be good for Matthew. They don't know if he extubated (coughed the tube out) first or vomited first. If he did aspirate, that puts Matthew at high risk for pneumonia. Everything that have been suctioning from his tube today has been clear; so that gives us some hope; but he is running a bit of a temperature now. I'm guessing when they do rounds this afternoon they will order lab work to check and see if he is getting a pneumonia.

While he was extubated last night (for a total of about an hour) they had shut off his sedation medication. While that was off he had 2 short seizures. With that in mind the neurologist believes that that is our sign to keep him sedated and intubated till tomorrow. That will give us one more day to get his levels of all his medications to a level that will keep the seizures at bay. I am comfortable with this plan. Tomorrow we will begin the process. The nurses and doctors continue to reassure me that his lungs look very good, his ventilator settings are the lowest they can possibly run them on, and he is only on the ventilator to protect his airway. I need this reassurance; especially at night. I seem to have more anxiety with the ventilator late at night.

Also on the list of things to do today are to possibly get Matthew a PICC line which is an IV that would give us longer and better access than an IV. His IV will need to restarted soon, as they don't last long. PICC lines last a long time; he can be sent home with it if needed; and the added bonus is that they will be able to draw blood out of it, so he won't have to be poked anymore for blood draws. I'm guessing they will decide this on rounds.

I will do my best to update 1 more time at the top of this post this evening. My dad is here and my mom is driving here as we speak. Food is beginning to show up at our home too, I am told. Thank you; everyone, thank you for supporting us in your thoughts, prayers, messages, daycare, food, and everything else that I can't think of at this minute. Our family wants you to know we are so thankful, and blessed by your outpouring of love. I can't and never will be able to say thank you enough.

Some have asked if I would like company. I would love company, however, the hospital is locked down similar to Alcatraz due to HIN1 and they are making no exceptions. They are only allowing parents and grandparents to visit. So thank you, but at this point with all the illnesses floating around, I am comfortable with my computer, radio and my cell phone.

I do have a favor to ask of you today. I love getting messages and bible verses sent to me; so if you have the time today and have a special bible verse or just want to send me a quick hello via facebook or my comment section...it's my favorite thing to do, reading all of your comments and verses. In the evening when my anxiety is higher, the verses are nice for me to have and read.

And I have one more favor. Would you pray for Thomas?? Thomas is Matthew's neighbor in the PICU. He is 5 1/2 months and suffers from a heart condition, and seizures so bad they have caused brain damage along with other things. Thomas' mom and I were talking last night and they are not talking about "when" he gets out of the PICU, but more "if he makes it out" of the PICU. It is a very quick reminder of people who are in harder circumstances than us. It breaks my heart.