Sorry for the delay on posting an update. It seems like all the days are melting together and, before I knew it, I realized that there hasn't been a post since Friday. Currently, I'm sitting in the Ronald McDonald House and pouting. I haven't felt very well the last couple of days. Apparently, some nasty cold is making its way through the ICU and taking down a bunch of victims while it does so. As much as I want to be by Nathan's side, it isn't worth the risk. So, I sit here, bored to death. I miss my Landon, I miss my home, I miss the Phoenix weather, and I miss work (yes, I said it!). Basically, I miss my normal life.
We just moved to the Ronald McDonald House a few days ago. It is a nice facility. We feel a little strange being here, like we are a charity case or something. Also, we feel a bit guilty. I just hope we aren't taking a room a way from a family that really, really needs it. However, we have been living in a hotel for a month now, this is not cheap to do. Rather than go through all of our back-up funds, we figured it was time to stay somewhere that is a little bit cheaper. This is such a wonderful thing that they do for families that have sick children. I'm so glad that they exist. It almost takes a way the guilt that I feel when I stuff my face with a McDonald's burger and fries. See, by eating this, I am supporting families that have sick children ;)
Now to the part of the post that you all actually want to read about...
Well, Nathan remains extubated. He is doing great. At this point, I don't even think he really needs oxygen anymore. However, he still has a lot of congestion in his lungs. So, it is probably best just to keep some flow going through there to keep things open. Our big battle right now is that he is withdrawing pretty significantly from all of the drugs he has been on. They are trying to wean him off of the narcotics, but are having to give him more drugs to help get him through the withdraws. He gets so shaky and starts flinging his arms all around. This wouldn't be such a big deal, but he ends up coughing and choking from all of the nastiness that is in his lungs. He ends up getting himself all worked up. This then leads to him gasping for air and needing epi breathing treatments to get him through the episode. As a result, they have to keep him more sedated until they can wean him off some of the drugs that are causing these effects.
While this is scary, it is such an improvement from where we were just a week ago. We are making progress, but it is slow. I'm fine with slow! I don't want to push this kid too much and wind up taking huge backwards steps. I don't mind where we are now. It is all part of the recovery game. Get him off the drugs, wake him up, work on feeds, fine tune all of the meds we'll go home on, then....GO HOME! I keep having to remind myself, slow and steady wins the race. Our little turtle is making huge strides and we are so proud of him.
For those that have asked for an address to where we are staying, here it is. We will most likely be here for another 2 to 3 weeks.
St. Mary's Hospital
Attn: Nathaniel Davies MB5B room 5516
1216 2nd Street SW
Rochester, MN 55902
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