Baby Eagan - NICU Day 43 - Breathe

You had a choice
And you took the road less traveled
Most get to stroll on the sidewalk
But you chose to take the gravel

You have your parent's life force
Feel it growing inside you
It is with you for your journey
It is there to guide you

Oh the stories they will tell
Of the mountains that you climbed
And the hurdles that you leapt
The doubts you left behind

Don't give up on hope
For that is when we perish
It is the miracle you are becoming
That we will all grow to cherish

For life is a risk worth taking
Though we are tested now and then
We thank you for this chance
We would do it all again.

 

Eagan was having a pretty calm morning. Around 3 pm, I noticed he seemed to be really struggling to breathe. His blood gas came back that he had 80% carbon dioxide. He is allowed to have 55% to 60%. This is actually a slightly dangerous number. His lungs are full of fluid. His respiratory therapists did a breathing treatment of Atrovent and he has been given more Lasix. Please pray that this clears up so little man can breathe easy and mommy can too.

Eagan had a great nurse today that let me help change all of his dressings. I had to wear a mask and gloves, but it was awesome to be able to do something to help my little boy.

Here is a run-down of his current status:

Weight
Eagan was not weighed today or last night, but he is even more swollen than yesterday!

Length 
14" at last measurement
 
Breathing
Eagan is on the conventional ventilator. His settings were at 25 breaths per minute until 6:00 pm, when his vent was turned to 40 breaths per minute.  His oxygen rate is 30%. The pressure that the ventilator puts in his lungs is at 24. 

Vitals
Eagan's blood pressure was great today.

 

Vein and Artery Access
Eagan has an internal jugular line that was placed in surgery.

The arterial line is in his head.

A CVL, central venous line, was placed during surgery on the left side. 

Medications

Hydrocortisone, for blood pressure and stress response, is at the increased dose.

Eagan is on Vancomycin and Meropenum - both antibiotics.

His Morphine was previously given every two hours but now his is on the same dose, but as a constant drip.

Caffeine has been started as a diuretic to try to speed up his kidney function.

Lasix, a diuretic, has been added to try to get the fluid out of his little body.

Nutrition
Eagan's only sources of nutrition right now are his TPN fluids and lipids.

 

Output

Eagan has a foley catheter in place. His urine output was okay today.

Transfusions

Eagan received transfusion #22 because his hematocrit was low.