| The NICU Experience | Aaron update 5 |
| Subject: Aaron Update 5 Date: Thursday, December 5, 2002 7:37 PM From: Kevin Quick To: Aaron Update List Aaron was extibated today. Hmm, is that good or bad? It’s good! It means that Aaron’s high-frequency breathing tube was removed, and he’s now breathing on his own, with a little help from a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine. The CPAP machine simply keeps his lungs slightly inflated all the time, via a constant, low-pressure air stream. This is good, according to the nurse, because the breathing tube was the most invasive thing that was being done to him. He’s more comfortable now without the big tube going down into his lungs. The nurse cautioned me that this situation could very easily and quickly need reversing, so that he would need to be intibated again, so we shouldn’t be TOO hopeful. He could need to go back on the breathing tube today, tomorrow, or next week. But for now, he’s cruising! As I write this (at 6:45 p.m.), he’s been extibated for about 10 hours. The CPAP device looks a bit scary, so we’ve heard, but it’s apparently making Aaron much more comfortable. Aaron had a “deep line” IV put into his leg today. The doctor wasn’t able to put it in quite as deeply as he would have liked to, but it’s in place and is working fine. Eventually, maybe in a week or so, they’ll try another “deep line” through his arm, because they want to get a deep line placed as close to his heart as possible. Then, he’ll be able to get the 20% glucose solution that he’ll need as he grows. For now, though, the leg line is OK. He still has the IV in his head, which is being kept as a functional spare. Aaron now has a tiny new line going into his stomach to help evacuate air. Very soon, maybe even tomorrow if Aaron continues to do well, he’ll start having small amounts of food (Kathleen’s colostrum, then milk) put into his stomach through this tube. Tomorrow afternoon, Kathleen and I will head back to the hospital. I’ll stay for the weekend, at least, and Kathleen will take up semi-permanent residence there. These few days at home have helped us to regroup a bit, and a full week with no major problems has really boosted our spirits. We keep getting cautioned by the doctors and nurses to not expect too much; we have lots of hurdles to get over yet, and there will be many ups and downs. But so far, the continuous string of ups has been wonderful. I may not have a chance to send an update tomorrow (Friday), but I’ll try to write on Saturday with the telephone number to our room. We’re going to be “rooming in” in the hospital again. The environment is a bit sterile there in the hospital room, but it’s free, and it’s as close as we can be to our baby, which counts for a lot right now. Love, Kevin, Kathleen and Aaron Later... OK, it looks like intibation and extibation really should be spelled intubation and extubation (tubes...makes sense). That explains why I couldn’t find intibation or extibation in any dictionaries. Not finding them in the dictionaries, I did some general searches on the Internet and found quite a few references to intibation and extibation, but these were apparently just other peoples’ incorrect spellings, like mine. |
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