Thursday, July 5, 2007

Peter - Carepages - July 5th, 2007


As with any recovery - it is two steps forward and one step back. All in all Peter is doing really well. He continues to move forward with having tubes removed and drugs reduced. This morning John and I were surprised to find Peter off the ventilator and on high flow oxygen. While Peter did a good job maintaining his saturation levels, this afternoon he was breathing very shallow and fast. The latest x-ray showed some lung deterioration - especially in the area of the right lung that had collapsed. In order to help his lungs inflate properly and encourage him to breath deeply he was moved to a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) - basically a mask over his nose that pushes enough air to keep the lungs inflated with out breathing for you like a ventilator. It looks like an infant version of the mask folks use for sleep apnea. Within minutes of being on it he showed improvement. They will be taking another x-ray in the morning to determine next steps. We are confident that this is just another step in Peter's recovery and that he will continue to move forward. We were very excited to get to hold Peter today. While we will now need to wait until he is off the CPAP, we can rejoice in the time he was in our arms. I even took a little nap with my little man this afternoon. Another positive is that so far he has not shown signs of pulmonary hypertension so we are encouraged that the surgery really was the necessary step to help him heal. On a different note, we were able to get back into the Ronald McDonald house - yeah!! John headed back to the Springs today, but hopes to be back sometime this weekend. We are extremely grateful for all the blessings we have received. Hugs! catherine

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