Baby Eagan - NICU Day 143 - Post-Op is TOUGH

  Eagan is really having a tough time. Around 6 p.m. he dropped his heart rate to the 50's and his oxygen to 38%. His normal heart rate is 160 or so and oxygen between 95% and 100%. He had to be resuscitated. This is apparently a really hard surgery to recover from and Eagan does everything the hard way. He is very swollen and not giving very good blood gases. These check how well the ventilator is working and how well he is oxygenating. In true Eagan fashion, my little tough guy will just take his sweet time getting better.

Weight
Eagan is too sick to be weighed.

Breathing

Eagan is on the conventional ventilator. It is breathing 50 times a minute for him. His oxygen is between 45% and 50%. The tidal volume on the ventilator is up to 19.0.

Vitals

His vitals were a bit better today.

Vein and Artery Access 

Eagan has a broviac sub-clavian line on the left side as of Day 103.

He had an arterial line in his right foot this morning that stopped working. A new one was put in his left foot this afternoon.

Medications

Zantac was added for his reflux.

Lasix is given every 24 hours to help him get rid of some excess fluid.

He is also on Diflucan as a preventative measure.

Vancomycin was added because of the central line tear.

Sodium bicarbonate was given twice today because he was acidotic.

Nutrition

He is getting TPN and lipids 

Transfusions 
August 30 - Transfusion #37

Upcoming Tests

Eagan will have another eye exam Tuesday.

Baby Eagan - NICU Day 140-142 - All Put Back Together Again

Right after surgery

Waiting in the Operating Room holding area

  My little Humpty Dumpty is finally all one piece. The surgery went well. A bit more intestine had to be removed. It was adhered to scar tissue and damaged. He was given 100 cc of clear fluids in the operating room along with albumen, a blood protein. Today, he needed fluid boluses and a blood transfusion because his blood pressure was low. His lungs have some fluid in them. He is also very swollen, even more so now than the first picture. At some point the day of surgery, his central line developed a tear and leaked out. This was repaired but was not able to be used for twenty-four hours. In his mouth, he has an Anderson tube to suck all the gunk out of his stomach. It is hooked up to suction. He has a long, difficult recovery ahead of him but little man is tough and will do great.

Weight
7 lb 11 oz - This was the weight before surgery. He is very swollen now but too sick to be weighed.

Breathing

Eagan is on the conventional ventilator. It is breathing 42 times a minute for him. His oxygen is between 21% and 30%.

Vitals

His blood pressure has been low and his heart rate has been high.

Vein and Artery Access 

Eagan has a broviac sub-clavian line on the left side as of Day 103.

He has an IV in his right hand. He also had one in his right foot that created a nasty purple spot and had to be removed.

Medications

Zantac was added for his reflux.

He was started on Ampicillin every 6 hours and Gentamicin every 12 hours for sepsis. 

He is also on Diflucan as a preventative measure.

Vancomycin was added because of the central line tear.

Nutrition

He is getting TPN and lipids 

Transfusions 
August 30 - Transfusion #37

Upcoming Tests

Eagan will have another eye exam Tuesday.

Baby Eagan - NICU Day 133-139 - Preparing for Surgery

Feeding tube free for a few minutes during tube change.

 Visiting with his brother, Eli

 Eagan is getting ready for his BIG surgery Wednesday. The surgeon will reconnect his intestines and repair all his hernias. Tuesday he will be given Pedialyte through his NG tube and his mucous fistula. In the evening, he will become NPO which means he cannot have anything to eat. Shortly before surgery, he will be switched to only clear IV fluids. This will be a pretty long surgery but is very necessary to get him home.

My oldest, Eli, turned 3 on Saturday. My family and I took him to Fernbank to see the dinosaurs. They had the annual dinosaur birthday party, so the whole museum was decorated "just for Eli." He had a blast with dinosaur feet crafts, dinosaur temporary tattoos, and ice cream. He got Buzz and Woody action figures for his birthday. He and his sister got Cozy Coupes in red and pink from my parents. Her birthday is in July but we waited and gave them a together cake to go with their cars. We had a blast, but I look forward to being home for birthdays next year and waking up with the kids on their birthdays. One of the hardest parts about living at the hospital is missing big events and daily life with my kiddos.

 

Weight
7 lb 9 oz

Breathing 

Eagan is breathing all by himself!!

Vein and Artery Access 
Eagan has a broviac sub-clavian line on the left side as of Day 103.

Medications

Zantac was added for his reflux.

He was started on Ampicillin every 6 hours and Gentamicin every 12 hours for sepsis. 

He is also on Diflucan as a preventative measure.

Nutrition

Feeds are at 7 cc of breast milk an hour continuously.  He is getting TPN and lipids. He also gets two bottles of 5 cc of breast milk twice a day.

Transfusions
 
August 10 - Transfusion #36
August 9 - Transfusion #35 

Upcoming Tests

Eagan will have another eye exam Tuesday.

Baby Eagan - NICU Day 125-132 - 7 pounds!

   

 

Things have been pretty boring in Eagan's world. Boring is really good! Surgery is scheduled for August 29. I am so very ready to have his intestines all in one piece and start getting him ready to go home!! During surgery they will also fix the many gigantic hernias that have appeared around his ostomy sites and incision. He had to be put on oxygen for about 24 hours but is off it again. Overall, we are just hanging out and waiting to get things going! We are also working on his goofy shaped head by adjusting his position often so hopefully he won't need a helmet. His eye exams show no change, not better, but not worse.

Weight
7 lb 5 oz

Breathing
Eagan is breathing all by himself!!

Vein and Artery Access 
Eagan has a broviac sub-clavian line on the left side as of Day 103.

Medications

Zantac was added for his reflux.

 

He was started on Ampicillin every 6 hours and Gentamicin every 12 hours for sepsis.

He is also on Diflucan as a preventative measure.

Nutrition

Feeds are at 7 cc an hour continuously.  He is getting TPN and lipids. He also gets two bottles of 5 cc twice a day.

Transfusions
 
August 10 - Transfusion #36
August 9 - Transfusion #35
 

 

Upcoming Tests

Eagan will have another eye exam Monday.

Baby Eagan - NICU Day 119-124 - Four Months, 6 Pounds

  Eagan is four months old as of August 11 and six whole pounds! He is doing wonderful. He did need some extra blood, so he had two transfusions. That required an IV in his head. He was not a fan. We are still dealing with episodes caused by reflux where his heart rate and oxygen drops. The doctors tried to increase his feeds to 8 cc per hour through the feeding tube but that was just too much for his digestive tract. Apparently, Eagan's magic number is 7 cc per hour until he gets reconnected. He also has a new swing that my family brought to the hospital for him. He really likes it.

On the home front, we have dealt with a few medical issues. Little Evelyn woke up Friday morning and her hand was swollen and purplish. After a pediatrician visit, it was determined she had an allergic reaction, but we don't know the source. Her hand looks much better after starting her prescription. 

Weight
6 lb 2.7 oz

Breathing
Eagan is breathing all by himself!!

Vein and Artery Access 
Eagan has a broviac sub-clavian line on the left side as of Day 103.

Medications

Zantac was added for his reflux.

 

He was started on Ampicillin every 6 hours and Gentamicin every 12 hours for sepsis.

Caffeine has been started to help him remember to breath.

He is also on Diflucan as a preventative measure.

Nutrition

Feeds are at 7 cc an hour continuously.  He is getting TPN and lipids. He also gets two bottles of 5 cc twice a day.

Transfusions
 
August 10 - Transfusion #36
August 9 - Transfusion #35
 

 

Upcoming Tests

Eagan will have another eye exam Monday.