Pieces

I believe that Bryan has written in the past about how we look for pieces of Ayden to return after a major physiological change or event. Well, after a very difficult night and morning filled with out-of-control crying and sweating, Ayden has begun to be Ayden again. He has been cooing and laughing at his nurse visitors, and he is currently slumbering without restlessness. In addition, his oxygen assistance has been decreased from 2 liters to .25 liters, and he is currently satting 78-82 while in a deep sleep. They will probably be able to wean his oxygen further (off???) overnight. Another exciting change is that Ayden took some formula by mouth (through use of syringe, not bottle). I think he enjoyed the feeling of the liquid on his sore throat. I was encouraged by his willingness to eat.

So... why the quick change? I think he feels better because a significant amount of fluid on his lungs has been lifted during the course of the day. They have him on a ridiculous amount of IV diuretics, but they needed to get his lungs cleared quickly, so they can figure out an appropriate home medication regiment. This process could take a week... maybe more... I don't ask for numbers because I don't ever believe discharge until we are actually experiencing it. What I do know is that Dr. Kavanaugh wants to get him home; she told Ayden that he needed to be working on being a little boy.

There's always a catch. Ayden had a fever at his last temperature check. While it is possible that a fever could be the result of having had the cath yesterday, it is also possible that he has an infection. His nurse, Stephanie, has already drawn blood to determine white blood cell count, etc. She is also going to get a urine sample for a culture. The really bad news could be that Ayden's PICC has been compromised, and he has central line infection. If the blood drawn from the PICC indicates that he has an infection, they have to get further blood from a different site. If the blood from a different site shows no infection, they will have confirmed the central line infection; if it too shows infection, then we are probably dealing with something else. We are hoping that the fever is a fluke, a result of the cath, and nothing to worry about.

_____

6:04 PM -- White blood cell count is normal. We are waiting to hear back regarding the test for inflammation. Stephanie still needs a urine sample. Ayden peed on her for the first attempt, and she didn't get the sample.